It Comes Back to You
by RedHeadedFlame
Summary: Katniss lives happily working in the diner in her small town. But when someone from her past comes crashing back into her life, her life becomes that bit more complicated and she has fight that bit harder to protect the ones she loves.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's good to be back with a new story! I hope the intro intrigues people and appreciate any feedback.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of its characters**

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

I push into the small kitchen at the back and flip over my page long list of orders. The heat in the room is already beginning to rise and beads of sweat immediately begin gathering on my forehead. The two chefs, Castor and Bonnie, dart between stations, cutting up fries, flipping burgers and simmering macaroni. They don't stop working as I fire off my list of orders.

"Two burgers with everything on it, one stack of pancakes and three meatball sandwiches. Mrs Cartwright has gone dairy free so no cheese or butter in her cheese and pickle sandwich," I bark.

Bonnie smirks as she straddles an aisle, attending two pots on opposite sides at the same time.

"She does know there is milk in whipped cream? That woman always has a creamy cake in her hand," Bonnie replies.

I smile.

"I still think this fad will last longer than veganism. She only managed that for two days. But she was always on to a losing battle with that one. Her husband is a cow farmer!" I reply.

Both Castor and Bonnie laugh and I pin the latest orders to the board before ducking out the sweltering kitchen and re-entering the diner.

I've worked in this small town diner since I was sixteen. Back then I was a fresh-faced waitress, hating the fact that my best friend had suggested I wear roller skates while at work. Over the next twelve years I managed to make myself indispensable to Sae, the owner of the diner, by helping set up and maintaining an electronic card machine and running the popular open mike nights. When Sae retired just over a year ago, she kindly handed the diner over to me. I spend most of my day feeding and listening to the small population of Seam.

The lunch time rush is in full swing and the poor waitress scurries between the red and black booths with her hair falling out of her ponytail. I give her a sympathetic smile as I walk up to the counter and prepare to serve the patrons there.

Haymitch Abernathy sits with his head slumped forwards on to the counter. The smell of white liquor seeps out his body. His long muddy blond hair falls around his face like a curtain and he clutches a small hunting knife in one hand. I lean forward to carefully extract the knife and slam a steaming cup of black coffee in front of him.

Haymitch jerks his head back and scowls at me.

"Didn't anyone tell you it was dangerous to wake a sleeping lion?" he grumbles.

"So I've heard. But I don't think the same phrase applies for a tabby cat," I say with a pointed look.

Haymitch grumbles as he wraps his hands around the hot coffee and slurps some of it greedily. However, he then proceeds to burn his tongue.

"Fuck, Katniss! That's hot. This needs to come with a health warning!" he exclaims.

I push a large glass jar, filled with ones, in front of Haymitch.

"That's another dollar for the swear jar," I reply. "This is a family place, Haymitch."

Haymitch grumbles again but does dutifully throw in a crumbled dollar note.

"I don't know why I bother coming. You always take my cash," he says.

"Obviously you come for my winning personality," I say with a grin.

Haymitch scoffs and shakes his head.

"That and the fact the bar doesn't open until 3pm," he mumbles.

He takes hold of his coffee again but drinks it a lot slower this time. I leave him as he starts his cycle of either being hungover or drunk. No amount of company has ever managed to break that cycle for him.

Next the baker, Joel, pushes into the diner carrying a tray of leftover cakes. I lick my lips at the sight.

"Here's today's helping of slightly stale baked goods. Give them away free to anyone who wants them" he says, placing the tray down on the counter. He then leans in to whisper in my ear. "I did save a white chocolate chip cookie for Ava. I know they are one of her favourites."

"I think you may be her favourite person in the whole world. Food is definitely the quickest way to her heart," I reply.

"She could help me out in the bakery one day. With all my sons gone it gets a bit lonely," Joel says.

"You may live to regret that offer. My daughter is a mini-tornedo!" I say.

Joel gives me a broad grin.

"At least life is never dull," he replies.

I chuckle lightly and then Joel turns to Rooba, the butcher's wife. She sighs heavily as she studies the menu.

"Life surely can't be that bad," Joel says. "Here. Have a day old cookie."

Joel passes a cookie to Rooba while I pour her a glass of ice tea. But Rooba just sighs again.

"A cookie is the last thing I need right now, Joel. Is there anything low fat on the menu?" she asks me, already knowing the answer.

"Everything is cooked in grease," I reply with a shake of the head. "I would recommend the salad but the dressing alone is probably close to a thousand calories."

Rooba sighs again as she pushes the menu away.

"I guess I'll stick with ice tea. I'm trying to watch my weight. I don't want to look like a hippopotamus in a tutu at Bristel's wedding," she says.

I shake my head. It's true that Rooba has a few extra pounds around her middle and her breasts are so big that even my dad has been caught staring at them but she's always been like that and I think it adds to her charm.

"Nonsense," Joel says. "You were the prettiest girl in our grade at high school and that hasn't changed. If Derek hadn't snapped you up, I would have."

I nod my head in agreement.

"Joel's right. You looked amazing at the summer carnival this year in that sparkly blue dress. Ava said you looked like Elsa from _Frozen_. That is the biggest compliment you can get from a five-year-old," I reply.

Rooba puts her hand on her chest and looks genuinely touched by what I just said.

"She really said that? Bless her little soul. That's made my day, Katniss," she says.

I smile warmly back at her and Rooba eyes the menu again. She chews her bottom lip for a moment before slamming her hands down on the counter.

"Oh, what the hell! Order me a pulled pork sandwich with a side of macaroni!" she declares.

Joel and I give her a big grin and Joel then slaps her on the back.

"That's the spirit. Remember, no one in this town judges you for what you eat. Well, apart from judging Mrs Cartwright. Those diets she has are just plain weird," Joel says.

Rooba gives him a grateful smile and I jot her order join and send it through to the kitchen. When I come back, one of my best friends pushes into the diner with two little whirlwinds behind her. Madge slumps onto a bar stool, placing her two-year-old son on her lap while her two eldest sons rush between tables firing imaginary guns at each other.

"Pow! Pow! You're dead!" her four-year-old son, Aiden shouts.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" his twin brother, Hunter shouts.

Aiden stops in the middle of the diner and looks at his brother, confused. Hunter continues to flick his wrists forward and pretends to swing about the room.

"That's not the sound of guns!" Aiden exclaims.

"I'm not using a gun. I'm Spiderman using my web shooters!" Hunter replies.

"That's not fair! You're cheating! Mommy!" Aiden cries.

Aiden runs up to Madge and flings his arms around her legs before he starts wailing about his brother. Madge lets out a weary sigh and then turns to face her eldest son.

"If you play nicely with your brother I'll get you an ice-cream sundae," she says.

Aiden's tears stop immediately and he scampers off to play with Hunter without another word. Madge sighs as she turns back to me.

"Don't have another kid, Katniss. I hear them bickering in my sleep," she says.

I laugh as I go to pour her some tea but she stops me and shakes her head.

"Can I actually have some ginger beer. Feeling pretty nauseous today," she says, rubbing her stomach.

I raise my eyebrow at her as I get the cool refreshment. Madge catches my look and nods her head in confirmation.

"Gale's got me pregnant again," she says.

"I want to say congratulations but I'm not sure you want to hear that," I reply.

Madge and Gale were those childhood sweethearts everyone had at high school. The ones that got together as soon as they became teenagers and every other couple inspired to be. Everyone in the town knew they would get married and have kids but Madge has found out the reality of the situation isn't always as fun as it sounds.

"I don't even know how it happened! I was on the pill! But apparently Gale has some super sperm that can fertilise me not matter what!" Madge exclaims.

"Oh God! He's going to get an even bigger headed after this!" I reply.

"It's alright for him. He doesn't have to push the thing out of his vagina. Or get the heart burn and morning sickness. But as long as he gets enough for his baseball team," she says.

Madge shakes her head as she sips at the ginger beer. Her youngest son, Dylan, gurgles in her lap and tries to reach for her glass. Madge pushes the glass out of his reach and smooths his blond curls before placing a kiss on his head. I smile at the sight. Madge may complain about her kids a lot but she loves them more than anything in the world.

Rooba watches the whole interaction and smiles sympathetically at Madge.

"I remember what it's like. I used to lock myself in the bathroom just so I could get a minute's silence," she says.

Madge nods her head in understanding.

"I can't wait for the little terrors to start school so I have two less to deal with during the day," Madge replies.

"I can take the twins for you this afternoon. They can help me take the dogs for a walk," Rooba says.

Relief floods Madge's features.

"That would be so good, Rooba. This fourth baby is tiring me out," she says, rubbing her stomach.

"And bring them to the park later. Ava and I are meeting Prim there this afternoon," I say.

Tears begin to gather in Madge's eyes and she reaches out to take my hand.

"Thank you. I'll return the favour and have Ava one day," she says.

"You know I don't like to share her," I reply with a grin.

Madge laughs and Dylan turns his head to her with a toothy smile. Madge smiles back at him before bending down to rub their noses together. Dylan shrieks with laughter and I smile before turning to get back to work.

I go back to the kitchen and the radio is on when I enter. The local news bulletin rings out through the room.

" _And there has been another bank robbery in Hob. This is latest in a series of bank robberies that date back to 2008. The police still have no suspects but speculate that there are two rival gangs involved."_

I stride over to the radio and abruptly change the station. Some bouncy pop music begins to fill the room instead and Bonnie and Castor turn to me. I ignore them and busy myself filling up the dishwasher.

When I reappear out front, Madge and Haymitch are still sitting at the counter but Rooba has gone with the twins. Madge looks a lot more relaxed and Dylan giggles as she tickles him.

The lunch rush has diminished and I help the waitress by cleaning some tables. As I'm doing so, Darius, the local cop comes in. We share a bright smile and I put down the damp cloth to go over and speak to him. I lean in to give him a warm hug.

"I've got your steak already cooking," I say as I pull back.

"Ah. You're so good for me. Remind me why we broke up?" he says with a smile.

"Pretty sure not having sex in three months had something to do with it," I reply.

Darius laughs as he takes a seat. We dated for two years, even lived together for a while but Darius' promotion at the station and Sae giving me the diner coincided. We barely saw each other, even though we lived under the same roof. It was with a heavy heart that we mutually decided to end things six months ago. Thankfully, any awkwardness has faded and his friendship is one of the ones I value most.

I go to my purse and pull out a folded piece of paper. I unfold it and hand it to Darius. His eyes light up when he sees it.

"Ava drew you another picture. They are learning about dinosaurs at school but she added a unicorn horn to make it look pretty," I say with a grin.

Darius laughs as he looks down at the picture fondly. My daughter loves to colour and used as many of her crayons as possible to create the multi-coloured unicorn-dinosaur. Darius studies it for a while before carefully folding it again and placing it in his pocket.

"I'm glad she's branching out. My refrigerator doesn't have space for another cat picture," he says.

"Yeah. Buttercup has gone out of favour after the whole bird killing incident," I reply.

Darius smiles again as he shakes his head. One of the things I loved about him was how great he was with Ava. He accepted her straight away and they still have a special bond today. Darius will take her out and she draws him a countless number of pictures. It makes up for the fact that her real dad is not around.

Darius turns to Haymitch and gives him a grin.

"How you feeling today, Haymitch? I didn't get a call to pick you up last night so it must have been a tamer evening," Darius says.

Haymitch glares at him while Madge smirks.

"Aren't there any real crimes for you to investigate?" Haymitch replies.

Darius smiles and shakes his head.

"One of the Cartwright's cows went missing but we found it wondering in the next field," Darius replies. "All the action is happening in Hob. That's the third time their bank has been hit in three years. Nearly every bank within two hundred miles has been hit. We're lucky the bank here has never been hit."

Three pairs of eyes all turn to look at me but I don't acknowledge them. I duck my head and pretend to be busy sorting menus. Madge manages to catch my eye and gives me a sympathetic smile. I look back at her and change the topic of conversation.

"So any big plans for Gale's birthday? Or is another child gift enough?" I ask.

"He might get a fumble in the bedroom if he's lucky," she replies with a grin.

I laugh and the conversation begins to flow again. The bank robberies aren't mentioned for the remainder of my shift.

* * *

I leave the diner mid-afternoon so I can go and pick Ava up from school. I smile at the many moms that crowd the school gates and Delly pushes her way to greet me.

"Katniss! I'm so glad to catch you. I just wanted to thank you for the hot dogs you provided for the fundraising fair. They were just what everyone needed and meant people didn't rush home to get the kids fed," she says.

I smile back at her. Delly was in my year at school and is now the head of the PTA. She is an absolute supermom and the most organised person I know. The school fundraising fair was a big hit with a giant moon bounce, colourful face painting and a rather competitive dad race.

"Not a problem. I'll remember to bring more next time. I didn't expect the hot dogs to sell out so quickly," I reply.

Delly nods her head.

"They really did help us raise a lot of money. We're hoping to have enough money now for a class set of ipads," she says.

I nod my head, impressed.

"I remember being impressed by lemon clocks in school. It's crazy how quickly things move on," I reply.

Delly nods her head in agreement but then the school bell goes and the children begin filing out. I crane my neck to catch sight of my daughter and eventually catch her eye. She waves at me enthusiastically and runs over to me once she's pointed me out to her teacher.

"Mommy! I drew you another picture!" she says.

She collides into me and I pick her up to bring her to my eyelevel. Ava is a miniature version of me. Dark hair in braids. Olive skin. Cherub like face. She looks like me in almost every single way. Everything apart from her blue eyes.

I place a kiss on her head and she shoves her picture in my nose.

"Hey, bug, what type of dinosaur is this one?" I ask.

"A T-Rex. ROARRR!" she replies.

I laugh and take a closer look at the picture. I'm very impressed that she even drew the scales on the dinosaur's skin.

"We learned that they are carnibores and only eat meat!" Ava exclaims.

"You mean a carnivore?" I say. "That's a very difficult thing to learn about."

"Yep. And you get herb..herby…herbimores. They only eat leaves. Which is pretty boring. If I was a herbimore I would have to eat broccoli all the time!" she adds.

"That's true. And spinach and brussel sprouts and cabbage!" I say, listing all the vegetables I know Ava doesn't like.

"Yuck!" Ava exclaims. "I want to be a cakeimore! I only want to eat cakes!"

I laugh.

"I think you eat enough cake already," I say as I put her back down.

Ava pouts but takes my hand as we begin walking out the school gates.

"Grandpa lets me eat cake whenever I want," she says.

I roll my eyes. It doesn't surprise me that my dad sneaks her treats. Since she was his first grandchild, he spoils her. We've had quite a few arguments because when I come home he's bought her yet another new toy.

"If you're good this week Joel said you can help him in the bakery," I reply.

"Yay! Maybe this time we won't burn anything, Mommy," Ava says.

She looks up at me hopefully and I grin. Considering I work in a diner, my baking skills are appalling. Last time I set off the fire alarm and the whole house stank of burnt cake for a week.

"Joel is a much baker than me. I'm sure you'll make a very yummy cake. What else did you get up to today? Did you get a new reading book?" I ask.

Ava bobs her head.

"It's about ladybugs. Miss Trinket said I'm getting real good at my words," she says proudly.

"I bet she did. I can't believe how many words you know!" I exclaim.

"I'll read you the story when we get home," Ava replies.

I smile and nod my head but Ava's eyes drift towards the park. She looks up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Can we go to the park, Mommy? I can do my homework later," she pleads.

I pretend to think long and hard about it, but have already made plans to meet Prim there anyway.

"Okay," I say. "I think we can go. I think Auntie Prim and Jacob will be there too."

"Yay!" Ava yells, jumping up and down. "Is Jacob big enough for the slide yet?"

I try to hide a laugh as I shake my head. Jacob is only five weeks old.

"No quite yet, honey. Babies take a long time to grow up," I reply.

Ava shrugs her shoulders and lets go of my hand as soon as we pass the gates of the park. She runs straight for the slide. I spy Rooba across the park and she waves at me as Aiden and Dylan clamber about the jungle gym. Ava spies them too and rushes over to them once she's zoomed down the slide.

I keep one eye on Ava as I make my way to my sister, sitting on a bench, cradling my new nephew. I greet Prim with a kiss and she gives me a tired smile as I sit down. I peer at my nephew and stroke his cheek when I see he's sleeping.

"First trip to the park and he's asleep," I say with a grin.

Prim laughs and shakes his head.

"Only just got him to settle. I swear he gets his moods from Rory," she replies.

"Enjoy the stage when they can't walk. I spend my whole life chasing after Ava," I reply.

We both look out at the park as we watch my daughter order Aiden and Hunter about in some running game. But it doesn't take her long to get bored of that and she darts off the climb up the jungle gym. She is unperturbed by the height of it and climbs it like a monkey until she gets the top. She shouts down to Hunter and Aiden and they try to follow her, but their shorter legs mean they don't get as far.

"She's certainly fearless. She gets that from you," Prim says.

"I should probably be more worried but Dad let us do some crazy things as kids," I reply.

"Yeah. I still can't believe he let you climb that tree for that honey nest," she says.

"One of my proudest achievements. Second to Ava," I say.

Prim sighs and looks down affectionately at Jacob. He stirs slightly and Prim holds her breath to see if he wakes but Jacob just stretches and continues to snooze lightly. Prim lets out a sigh of relief before turning to look at me.

"Thanks for coming today. It just so good to get out of the house. With Rory in the mines all day I'm going stir crazy with just a baby to talk to," she says.

"I don't think my chat is that much better. It's all the diner and Ava," I reply.

Prim laughs.

"Stories about Ava make my day. What adventures has she been up to recently?" she asks.

"She managed to put Dad's fish hooks in the washing machine. Cost me $200 dollars to repair it," I reply.

"Ouch. You should have blamed Dad for leaving them within her reach," Prim says.

I laugh and then dig out Ava's most recent drawing.

"Dinosaurs are her new thing at the moment. I've got so many pictures of them and we make junk models of them whenever we have a spare moment," I add.

Prim takes the picture off me and her eyes widen.

"Wow. This is amazing. I can't draw this good and I'm twenty-four. She definitely didn't inherit her drawing ability from you," she says.

I tense and snatch the picture off her. Prim looks up at me confused.

"Don't," I say. "Don't insinuate that she's like him."

Prim sighs and shifts Jacob in her arms.

"Come on, Katniss. Half her DNA is his. You just need to look into her eyes to see what she's inherited from him," she says.

I shake my head fiercely.

"I don't want her to be anything like him. She's not going to turn out like him," I say.

"I hardly think being good at drawing means she will follow in his footsteps. Not everything about him was bad, Katniss," she replies.

I shake my head, putting an end to the conversation. I don't want to see her similarities with him.

* * *

I have to drag Ava away from the park as dinner draws closer. Prim and I part with a hug and I promise to make more of an effort to see her. I tell Rooba that I will drop the twins back with Madge and the three kids argue about the _Frozen_ soundtrack as I drive the boys back home.

I'm exhausted when I get back home but Ava still hasn't run out of energy and bounds into the house to greet her grandparents.

"Grandpa! I found a spider in the park! I was really brave and picked it up but Aiden and Hunter got scared and ran away," Ava exclaims as she clambers up on to my dad's lap.

I've been living back with my parents since Darius and I broke up. Cash is a bit tight at the moment and when things get busy at the diner it's handy having my parents around to look after Ava. Ava loves them both, particularly my dad and he takes her out to the woods on a regular basis.

"That's pretty brave of you. How big was the spider?" Dad asks.

"This big!" Ava says, putting her hands out to slightly exaggerate the size of the spider.

"Wow! That's a really scary one. Are you sure it's not one that eats little girls?" Dad says.

He then tickles Ava in the stomach and she giggles loudly. They are soon wrestling with each other on the couch.

"A whole afternoon in the park still hasn't tired her out, I see," Mom says.

"She never stops moving. She must drive her teacher nuts," I reply.

Mom laughs and spends a moment longer watching Ava and Dad before turning into the kitchen.

"How was Prim?" Mom asks.

"Tired. But's she a natural with Jacob. I need to see her more. I think she's getting a bit lonely," I reply.

"I think I'll pop round tomorrow. Maybe bring her some apple pie," Mom says.

"She'd like that," I reply.

I spend a moment helping Mom prepare dinner before wiping my hands on a towel and straightening up.

"I better wrangle my little rascal off Dad. Just shout if you need me to do anything else," I say.

Mom nods her head and I go back through to get my daughter. Her and Dad are now making different animal noises at each other and I shake my head.

"Okay, Ava. That's enough. You need to do your reading before dinner and you're having a bath tonight," I say.

The animal noises stop and Ava turns to pout at me.

"But I had a bath yesterday," she whines.

"No, you didn't. You had one two days ago and you are getting smelly," I say.

I lean down to sniff Ava and make a show of scrunching and wafting my nose.

"Euurgh! I think you're going to need TWO baths!" I exclaim.

"No!" Ave replies with a smile.

I grin back at her before hoisting her up.

"If you read your story two times to me, I'll let you only have _one_ bath," I say.

"Okay. Race you upstairs!" Ava giggles.

I smile again before putting her down and letting her scamper off to get her reading book.

* * *

Even when Ava is in bed I still have work to do. I leave Mom and Dad watching some nature documentary and sit at the kitchen table with the diner's accounts in front of me. I put on my glasses and peer at the pages, hoping everything adds up.

It must be close to eleven o'clock when the doorbell goes. I look up from the accounts and frown. We're not expecting anyone but in a town this small it's not too unusual for someone to pop round unannounced, even late at night.

I push off my chair and call through to Mom and Dad.

"I'll get it," I say.

Dad shouts back his thanks and I just hope the bell hasn't woken Ava. I pull the door back and get the shock of my life when I see who's standing there.

I haven't seen him in five years and his blond hair has gotten longer. One hand clutches the door frame desperately for support while the other hand covers a hole in his side. Blood seeps through his fingers and blooms across the fabric of his shirt.

"Katniss….I need your help," he says breathlessly.

I'm lost for words as Peeta Mellark then collapses at my feet.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the great response from the first chapter. A lot of people have a lot of questions about Peeta and many will be answered in this chapter. But it's safe to say this is a slightly different version of Peeta than normal.**

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

Peeta slumps by my feet and the peace of the evening is shattered. I drop down to try and frantically stem the flow of bleeding.

"Mom!" I call. "I need you!"

Mom and Dad emerge from the living room and Mom's eyes widen in shock when she sees the situation. Dad's eyes show surprise too but this soon turns to a hard glare.

"Is that….?" Mom trails off.

I nod my head in confirmation.

"Peeta. You need to stay awake. What happened?" I ask.

Peeta's head lolls forward and I push it back up and force him to look at me. His blood is beginning to soak into my own skin and I have to hold my breath to stop myself from gagging on the metallic smell.

"I was stabbed. I tried to bandage it myself but the blood keeps on pouring out. I thought your Mom could patch me up," he says breathlessly.

I shake my head at him and pull him up into a sitting position. I don't want to know how he got stabbed. I learned a long time ago that it was better not to ask.

Mom looks alarmed and turns to me to check what I want to do. No matter what my feelings for him are now, I can't leave him bleeding on my doorstep. I nod my head to confirm that we'll bring him in. Mom immediately snaps into nurse mode and begins firing off instructions.

"Heath and Katniss, bring him to the kitchen table. I'll find the first aid kit," she says.

Dad looks at Peeta like a piece of vermin and doesn't move a muscle to help. Peeta is barely awake but groans in pain every time I try to drag him.

"Dad, please!" I plead.

Dad continues to give Peeta a stony stare but he does reluctantly move to help me lift him. We carry him to the kitchen and I swipe the diner's accounts off the table before dumping Peeta on top of it. Peeta groans and grimaces but I don't have much sympathy. Dad steps as far away from him as possible, but keeps a watchful eye on him. Mom rushes back through with the first aid kit and orders me to get some hot water.

Mom doesn't waste a moment as she rips Peeta's shirt off him and inspects the haphazard bandages around his middle. She shakes her head as she quickly disposes of them too.

"I've seen better bandages at the twelve-year-old first aid training," she mutters

She then bends down to examine the puncture wound in Peeta's side. She clears the blood away and prods the skin around the wound. Peeta screams and I turn my head to look up to Ava's bedroom above. I pray she can't hear the commotion down here.

Mom sighs as she pulls back up and begins rummaging in the first aid kit.

"You're lucky that it didn't pierce any organs or major arteries. But you do need stitches. As a professional I would advise you to go to a hospital," Mom says.

"You know I can't go there," Peeta says through gritted teeth.

"I see nothing has changed. I can do the stitches here. But it's going to hurt," Mom says.

"Good," Dad says from the corner of the room.

Peeta turns his head towards Dad while Mom sterilises a needle with alcohol.

"I thought I would bring you an early birthday present, Heath. I know you've always wanted to see me suffer," Peeta says.

Dad's eyebrows furrow in further anger and he takes a couple of purposeful steps towards the table. He clenches his fists as he looms over Peeta.

"If you weren't Ava's father I would have happily left you in the street for the cops to find," Dad replies.

He then turns to storm out the room. I turn to watch him go, glad that he is so protective of me but I am interrupted by Peeta's screams. Mom has pierced the needle into his skin and begins stitching him back up again.

"Give him something to bite down on, Katniss," she says.

I scan the room quickly and find a pencil. I shove it in his mouth and Peeta's cries become more muted as Mom finishes up. She drops the needle once she finishes and expertly wraps bandages around his torso. Peeta is left panting and sweating on the kitchen table and turns to catch my eye. I give him a blank look in return before turning to tidy the mess he's created.

Mom wipes her hands on a towel and gives Peeta something to help with the pain. He thanks her for the pill and it doesn't take long for him to pass out on the table.

"We could move him through to sleep on the couch," Mom suggests.

"Leave him on the table," I say coldly.

I then grab the mop and bucket and take it to clean the doorstep without looking back at him.

I scrub at the stone doorstep furiously. Now the drama of the situation is over, I'm just angry. Angry that he just ambushed us. Angry that he came back after five years. Angry that he still gets into trouble.

My fingers are close to bleeding when I finally remove every last speck of blood. I blow the hair out of my face and carry the bloody water back through to the kitchen. The scrubbing helped release some of the tension in my body but my emotions are still all over the place.

Mom has done a pretty good job of cleaning the kitchen and the only evidence that anything happened is Peeta lying on the table. I pour the contents of the bucket down the sink and turn back to look at him. He always looked more boyish in his sleep. Almost angelic like. You would never know what type of person he was if you saw him sleeping.

There was a time that the mere sight of him would make my heart flip and butterflies to swirl in my stomach. There was a time I would count down the hours until I saw him. But now all I see when I look at him is anger.

I don't know how long I stand there for, but eventually Peeta stirs. He rubs his eyes and winches as he stretches. He blinks a few times before he regains his bearings and turns to catch my eye.

"Hey," he says.

He says it so casually and with a hint of the lazy smile that used to make me weak at the knees. The sight of it makes me angry all over again. My shoulders tense as I straighten up to look at him.

"You promised you would never come back," I say coldly.

The trace of his smile vanishes and my tone of voice grabs his attention. Peeta pulls his body up into a sitting position and he runs a hand through his blond curls.

"Look, I know. I'm sorry. But I got into a fight and our usual medic was out of town. This was the nearest place," he replies.

I shake my head.

"I can't believe you came here. Is it even safe for us to stay here? Is this person you fought about to jump through our window?" I say.

"No! No. No one followed me. I would have never have come here if I thought I would put you and Ava in danger," he replies.

"You said that last time, Peeta. And that ended with a man pointing a gun at my daughter's head!" I exclaim.

I can feel the threat of tears at the corner of my eyes. That was the scariest day of my life. Ava was only four months old. I went into her nursery one night to find a man aiming a gun at her head. He was some casino owner that Peeta had managed to piss off during his dealings. He wanted money and to put Peeta in hospital and would have hurt Ava to get it. It still amazes me that the man got nothing. That Peeta was able to overpower him and dump him at the police station. I can't even contemplate the alternative ending.

That was the last time I saw Peeta. I couldn't have him around if there was always the possibility that Ava's safety would be compromised. He packed his bag the next day and promised to stay away for Ava's safety.

Peeta drops his head when I bring up the incident.

"I regret that night every single day. My nightmares are always about losing Ava that evening," he replies.

"And yet you are still willing to put her in danger again. You can't be sure that this guy will not come to finish you off," I say.

Peeta keeps his head bowed and nods.

"I'll be gone before she wakes up," he says.

I nod my head and let out a sigh of relief. I turn to tidy the last of the first aid kit and plan to ignore Peeta until he leaves. However, he spots something and gingerly gets off the table to take a closer look.

He stops right beside me and looks at awe at the pictures stuck to the refrigerator.

"Did Ava draw all of these?" he asks in awe.

I turn to nod my head.

"She's either drawing or running about outside," I reply.

A broad smile spreads across Peeta's face and he reaches out to trace the outline of Ava's pictures.

"She's only five and she can draw this good. I can't believe how much detail she puts into them," he says.

He studies each drawing carefully and the pride shines out of his eyes. Watching him makes me feel uncomfortable. It's been so long that I forgot just how much he loved her. Even after everything he did, and the danger he put us in, in the end he did the right thing and left. He left to keep Ava safe.

I look away from him. I don't want to be reminded of his good qualities. Not when I know he is still bad for Ava. Tonight has just proved that he hasn't learned any lessons.

Eventually Peeta drags his eyes away from the drawings and turns to me with nervous eyes. He chews on his bottom lip and runs his hand through his curls.

"Can I see her?" he asks.

I freeze and take a long time to turn and meet his stare. I made the decision five years ago that Ava wouldn't know her father. She knows that she has a dad out there and that it's not safe for him to come back to Seam and she hasn't questioned that so far. I don't want to confuse her by introducing her to a man that will disappear in the morning.

Peeta senses my alarm and prepares his argument.

"You don't have to wake her. I'd just like to look at her. The photos you send me every year are nice but they're not the same. I can't even begin to imagine how big she is now," he says.

I fiddle with the end of braid as I contemplate his request. His eyes plead me to let him and I see his pain. The pain of not knowing his daughter. The walls around my heart crumble a little and I sigh as I relent.

"Just for five minutes. And you can't wake her," I say.

His grin is impossibly wide as I answer.

"Thank you, Katniss," he replies.

I give him a tight smile before leading him up to Ava's bedroom. I raise my finger to my lips as we reach the landing and tiptoe along it. I tell him to wait as I push open Ava's door and peek around to check she is still asleep. It amazes me she hasn't woken during everything that happened tonight. But she's always been like Peeta in that way. He always slept like a log when we were together.

Thankfully she still sleeps soundly with her toy goat tucked under her arm. I smile at the sight before turning to Peeta and gesturing that it's safe to come in.

Peeta takes a deep breath before ducking into the room and his eyes immediately zone on to Ava. A smile of awe spreads across his face as he creeps towards her. He reaches her bed and bends down to look at her. He smiles when he sees the goat.

"She still sleeps with Lady. And I was scared she would have grown out of plush animals," he whispers.

My heart clenches as I remember when we first bought Lady. I had only just found out I was pregnant but we were in the General Store when we spotted it. I thought it was too soon to buy any gifts for the baby but Peeta insisted it was too cute not to buy. It was the first gift ever bought for Ava.

Peeta spends a long time studying Ava's face, memorising every tint detail about her. I wonder if he will sketch this image later. As much as I tried to deny it earlier to Prim, Ava inherited her artistic abilities from him.

Peeta's smile grows sad as the time for him to leave approaches. He leans in to place a feather light kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he says softly.

The smile is completely gone when he pulls back up again and he looks at me regretfully. He stops in front of me and his pain is so obvious that I feel it soak into my own skin and it makes my heart clench.

"I'll be gone by first light," he says.

I nod my head and he turns one last time to look at Ava. He takes a deep breath and then brushes past me out of the room.

* * *

Peeta is gone when I wake up later that morning, as is one of Ava's pictures from the refrigerator. I hastily stick on another one to fill the missing gap so she doesn't notice. The questions would be too complicated.

Dad comes down while I am making Ava's lunch for school and nods his approval at seeing Peeta gone.

"I hope you told him not to come back. He's not good for Ava," he says.

I nod my head but didn't sleep well last night so am not in the mood to discuss it. Peeta's arrival last night as thrown me off and every bad thought I've had about him runs through my head. I bang cups and plates nosily as I prepare everything for Ava and Dad has the good sense not to press me further.

Both he and Mom walk on egg shells around me though and watch me carefully when Ava comes down for breakfast. I shove a bowl of cornflakes in front of her and pour the milk sloppily. Ava looks up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Can I have waffles, Mommy?" she asks.

"It's not the weekend. You get cereal on a school day," I say a little sharply.

Ava huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I want bananas with my cereal," she pouts.

"We don't have any bananas," I reply.

"But I don't like it without bananas!" Ava exclaims, pushing the bowl away.

"For goodness shake, Ava! Eat your breakfast or you will get nothing at all!" I snap.

There is a moment silence as my words sink in. Mom and Dad look at me with wide eyes and Ava's lip begins to wobble. She clambers off her chair and into my dad's lap. She wraps her arms around his neck as the tears threaten to pour out.

I want to take my words back immediately. She's not the one I am angry with and is too young to understand. I take a deep breath before dropping down to her eye level.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I say, stroking her hair back. "Mommy didn't sleep a lot last night and is a bit grumpy this morning. I think we have some dried apricots. Do you want them in your cereal?"

Ava sniffs and nods her head. I smile apologetically and Dad gives her a little squeeze. I place a kiss on her forehead before getting up and adding the dried fruit to her breakfast.

Ava eats her breakfast in silence and then scampers off to brush her teeth. When she appears back down she holds Lady in her hands. I finish packing her backpack for school and she comes tentatively towards me. I bend down when I see her and she sticks Lady in front of me.

"I thought you could have Lady today. She always helps me get to sleep," she says quietly.

I smile at my thoughtful daughter and pull her in for a tight hug.

"Thank you. I'll keep her really safe. I'm sorry for shouting at you. I love you," I reply.

Ava wraps her small arms around me and I hold her for as long as possible.

With everything that's gone on, I'm late dropping Ava off at school and rush into the diner just as the breakfast rush is coming to an end.

The waitress is busy clearing tables when I arrive and there are only a few people sitting by the counter. I'm still not in the mood to talk to anyone and hope to lock myself in the office to avoid everyone.

However, I catch the end of a conversation between Rooba and Delly as I dash through.

"It's just so tragic. It's bad enough that two members of one family were killed but the little girl was only twelve," Delly says.

I stop to inquire more.

"Who's died?" I ask.

"This brother and sister from Hob. They think he was linked to the bank robber gang as stolen bank notes were found on him. They think someone stole the rest of the stolen cash and his sister got caught up in the crossfire," Rooba replies.

My heart stops. This can't be a coincidence. Peeta must be involved in this in some way. It would explain why he came to us bloody last night.

"This is the first time there has been death because of these robberies. I just hope it doesn't come to Seam," Delly adds.

She and Rooba look at me and Rooba gives me a sympathetic smile.

The whole town knew what Peeta got up to when he lived here. But no one ever questioned him or turned him into the police. Mainly because his presence here meant that our bank never got hit. He used to say _"Don't shit where you sleep"._ I guess with him not in Seam anymore there is a risk his brother's gang would come here.

I don't reply to Delly and turn to head to the kitchens without looking back. I say a quick hello to Catsor and Bonnie before ducking into my office and locking the door.

I spend the morning pouring over spreadsheets and stock orders. I fill my brain with the business so I don't have to think about Peeta, bank robberies and dead little girls.

No one bothers me until mid-afternoon. Darius knocks on my door and I reluctantly let him in. He leans against a filing cabinet as I take my glasses off and slump further into my chair with a heavy sigh. I take my braid out of my hair to pile it up in a knot instead.

"There's a rumour going around that you've developed obsessive compulsive disorder and can't stop cleaning your office," Darius says with a grin. "However, after remembering how you used to leave dirty dishes for a whole week, I know that couldn't be true."

"Why would people even think that?" I ask.

"The Donners apparently saw you scrubbing the stone steps at one in the morning. Delly did the rest," he says.

I shake my head.

"Nothing stays secret around here," I mutter.

Darius frowns and studies me carefully.

"What's happened? You don't look good," he says.

"Way to kick a girl when she's down," I reply.

Concern laces Darius' features and he comes around to sit in front of me. He reaches out to take my hand.

"Seriously. What's happened? You can talk to me," he says.

His thumb traces the top of my hand and I let out a shuddering breath as I feel tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes. I can't lie to Darius. I want to forget Peeta ever came last night but I also need to talk to someone about it. Someone who didn't know him when he was here.

"Peeta turned up last night," I admit.

Darius does a double take when he hears the words and lets go of my hand.

"Really? Why?" he asks.

I briefly explain what happened last night and Darius shakes his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe he put you and Ava at risk like that," he says.

I shrug my shoulders.

"I think deep down I always knew he would come back at some point. He loved…loves Ava. That's why he left. But I didn't expect him to come back like this," I reply.

Darius nods his head sympathetically.

"I'm just so angry at him. And not just for putting us in danger last night. I'm angry that he keeps following his brother's stupid orders. That he keeps taking stupid risks," I add.

"That's what happens when you fall in love with a bank robber," Darius says.

I nod my head in agreement. I knew very early on how Peeta earned his money. Him and his brother strolled into Seam one day and Peeta flirted with me outrageously until I agreed to go out with him. I think we had been on three dates before he told me that he didn't really work in a bank but robbed them instead.

It's really quite a slick machine and a routine they have perfected after nine years of robbing banks. They only hit the small banks. They hit them first thing in the morning when no other customers are about. They only take money from the tills, never from the vaults as that money is easier to track. They then take the money to casinos and exchange it for chips. They increase the value of money by playing poker and by the time they leave not a single bank note in their bag is from the bank they robbed earlier.

A sensible person would have run when they found out the truth. But I was twenty-one and naïve and already half way in love with him. I didn't think his goings on would ever affect me.

I chew on my bottom lip as I gain the courage to ask Darius the question that has been plaguing me all day.

"What happened to the brother and sister? The ones that were killed in Hob?" I ask.

Darius hesitates before answering me.

"There was some kind of fight. The police in Hob think some of the money from the most recent bank robbery was there and that some other gang ambushed the house and stole it. It's assumed that Thresh Dashwood got taken out trying to protect the cash and his twelve-year-old sister, Rue, was caught in the crossfire," Darius replies.

I nod my head slowly. I knew Thresh. He was part of Peeta's circle and I even babysat his little sister a couple of times. I am reminded how easily Ava could end up like Rue if Peeta is in her life.

"There's not a lot of evidence to go on. I haven't heard Peeta's name in investigations," Darius adds, trying to reassure me.

"But he was obviously there. That's how he must have got stabbed," I say.

"Most likely," Darius agrees.

There is a long pause and Darius' foot begins to twitch. I can tell he is psyching himself up to say something.

"What is it?" I ask.

Again Darius hesitates before answering me.

"The detectives in Hob have asked me to help them with the investigation. The little girl is big news and they want the bank robbers in jail," he says.

I nod my head as I contemplate what this means.

"I don't have to do it, Katniss. You know I won't hand Peeta into the police," he says.

It took me a long time to tell Darius the truth about Peeta. He arrived in Seam a couple months after Peeta left so didn't know his story like everyone else in town. I was wary to tell him the truth, even once we started dating, because he was a cop. I didn't want to be the one that sent Ava's father to jail. But as the Seam bank never got hit, the bank robberies weren't in Darius' jurisdiction and he has never had to go after him.

"No. Help them. It's your job," I say.

"Really? I can't cover up anything I find out about Peeta," he says.

"I know. But I won't ask you to sacrifice your job for me," I reply.

Darius gives me a sad smile and leaves not long after.

* * *

I leave work and still feel bad for snapping at Ava this morning. Dad picked her up from school today so I decide to surprise Ava with a cake from the bakery. I push into the cosy bakery contemplating whether she would prefer the strawberry vanilla or toffee fudge. I peer into the beautiful display cases without even greeting Joel.

"Hey, Katniss. What can I get you today?" a voice asks.

I snap my head up and freeze to the spot. I'm dismayed to see Peeta's smiling face standing behind the counter wearing a Seam Bakery apron.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

My eyes can't quite believe what they are seeing. I blink to try and rid the image in front of me but when I open my eyes Peeta is still standing there. He's wearing an apron that clearly suggests he works here.

"You were supposed to have left," I state.

The smile falls from his face and he runs a hand through his hair.

"I did leave. I promise. But I got half way home and couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Ava again," he replies.

"So you just decided to come back? On a whim. And get a job here?" I ask.

I'm so confused and my thoughts run frantically through my brain. I pinch the bridge of my nose to try and put them in order.

"It's not just a whim. I meant what I said last night, that I think about Ava every day, but it was only when I saw her that I realised just how much I'm missing. I know so little about my daughter. I want to be in her life, Katniss," he says.

"You agreed. You agreed that it wasn't safe for you to be here. You can't back out on your promise now. I won't let Ava be put in danger," I reply.

Peeta nods his head sadly.

"I won't put Ava in danger either. I'm leaving all the bank robbing behind," he says.

"You tried that once before. It didn't even last a month," I say bitterly.

"I mean it this time. I've told Rye I'm out. You should see the amount of missed calls I have from him," he replies.

I shake my head. I've heard this too many times before. Peeta wipes his hands on a cloth and steps around the counter. He stops in front of me and I look at him with a glare.

"You always wanted me to get a proper job and this is it. Joel's even given me the apartment above the shop. Baking cakes should be easy compared with robbing a bank," he says with a grin.

I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at him. I don't like how he is making a joke about the situation.

Joel takes this as his moment to enter.

"You were right, Peeta. Those buns needed a dash of cinnamon," he says. He then catches sight of me and the smile drops from his face. "Oh. Katniss. Good to see you today."

I shake my head in disgust at him.

"How could you hire him? You know his past!" I exclaim.

Joel shifts about nervously on his feet and wrings his hands together.

"Peeta came in asking about work and things have been hard for me since my boys have left. I don't have many options, Katniss. And it's only on a trial basis. If he brings any trouble he'll be out," Joel replies.

I huff and turn to face Peeta again.

"And what am I supposed to tell Ava? One afternoon isn't enough to convince me you are safe to let in her life. How am I supposed to explain who the new man is that works in the bakery?" I demand.

Peeta drops his head and toys with the front of the apron. Word about Peeta's return will spread like wildfire through this town and I don't know how I can explain that to Ava. I don't want her meeting Peeta until I am one hundred per cent sure it's safe for her.

"I didn't think about that, Katniss. I'm sorry," Peeta replies.

"That's your problem, Peeta. You don't think. You never think how your actions affect others," I say.

I don't wait to hear his response and turn to storm out the bakery.

* * *

I'm too wound up to go home straight away. I wander the streets of Seam for a while until I find a large oak tree at the edge of the park. Legend has it that this tree is the oldest in the state and I slump underneath its leafy branches. The leaves are just beginning to turn yellow and a couple spiral down to my feet. I lean my head back against it and close my eyes, desperately wishing that the last twenty-four hours have been a bad dream.

I used to come to this tree as a kid. I loved it because it has the easiest branches to climb and I could clamber up to the very top with ease. I used to pretend I was a bird, flying high, when I sat up at the top. I yearn to be that carefree little girl again. Back then my biggest problem was whether I would get dessert at dinner or not. Not ex-boyfriends I don't know how to trust.

The sun begins to set and I smile as the soft oranges bleed into the horizon. For a moment the whole town seems calm. There are fewer cars on the roads and the evening birdsong can be heard in the trees. It comforts me to think about all the families that will be coming together now after a long day's work. I imagine lots of laughter as parents greet their kids and listen to everything their children got up to today.

I think about my own family. One that I have closed off since Darius and I broke up. I'm happy. And Ava seems happy. I don't think I'm ready for our happy equilibrium to be broken.

With a heavy sigh, I pick myself up from under the tree and make the journey back home. I struggle to remove thoughts of Peeta the entire journey back.

I left the bakery in such a rush that I didn't pick up the cake I wanted to get Ava. I can't go back so stop off at the grocery store instead to pick her up a candy bar. It's completely dark when I get home and Mom is already washing up dinner. I give her a tired smile when I enter before turning into the living room.

Ava sits on my dad's lap, making shadow puppets with her hands. Dad leans in to position her hands and she laughs with delight as she makes her shadow dog talk. She turns around when I enter though and gives me a bright smile.

"Look what Grandpa taught me, Mommy! Woof! Woof!" she says.

I smile as I stroke the top of her head and then sit down in the chair beside them.

"Wow. I almost thought it was a real dog. Grandpa should teach you how to do a dinosaur," I say.

Ava grins at me again before clambering off my dad's lap and she stops in front of me.

"Are you still grumpy, Mommy? You missed dinner. We had meatballs with spicy sauce!" she exclaims.

"I can see that," I say reaching out to rub some sauce off her messy chin. "You have sauce all over your face!"

I wriggle Ava's nose and she laughs again. She stares up at me with her big blue eyes and I'm reminded just how similar they are to her father's. It was easy to forget just how blue his eyes were when I hadn't seen him in five years.

Dad watches me carefully. I know he can tell something is wrong but he doesn't question me in front of Ava.

"I'm sorry. I've been grumpy today. But Lady has kept me company," I say.

I tap the toy goat that I've kept in my bag all day. Ava smiles again and pulls Lady out of the bag as she climbs onto my lap.

"Lady is good for lots of things. She helps me sleep and keeps the monsters away," Ava exclaims.

I nod my head in agreement but wonder how Lady can protect my daughter from the man working at the bakery.

"She is a very good goat. I promise to be happier tomorrow." I say stroking the toy's head. "And, do you know what day it is tomorrow?"

Ava's brow knits together in a frown as she thinks about it.

"Today is Tuesday so tomorrow is…" I prod.

"Wednesday!" Ava shouts.

"Yes! And what do we do on Wednesdays?" I ask.

"Swimming!" Ava exclaims. "Do you think this time I will be able to go in without my water wings?"

"You are getting pretty good. We could maybe try a couple of lengths without them," I reply with a smile.

Ava nods her head eagerly and begins babbling about how good she's got at swimming. She jumps off my lap to demonstrate her stroke to me and Dad. We both watch with a smile before I ask her to get her reading homework for school. Ava rushes out the room to find the book hidden in her bag.

As soon as she is out of earshot, Dad turns to me with a concerned look.

"Has something else happened? It's not like you to be this late," he asks.

"Peeta is staying in Seam," I reply.

I quickly explain my encounter with him at the bakery and Dad's eyes grow cold. He moves to push himself off his chair.

"Right. I'm calling the police," he states.

"And tell them what, Dad? There's a blond man now working at the bakery? There's no evidence linking Peeta to any crimes. He and Rye are too clever for that," I say.

Dad sinks back into his chair and shakes his head.

"It's not right. He can't just expect to waltz back into our lives," Dad says.

"And I won't let him," I reply. I sigh as I lean back into the chair. "I just wish I had time to figure things out."

Ava's feet can be heard running back down the stairs and I force myself to push thoughts of Peeta out of my head so I can focus on my daughter. She appears through the door a moment later and holds her book triumphantly in the air.

"Found it! Miss Trinket says we can read the whole book now!" she exclaims.

I smile at her as she climbs up into my lap. I pull her in close so that I can read over her shoulder. Ava quickly flicks to the first page as Dad leans in to whisper in my ear.

"Do you want me to go round and give him a knockabout?" Dad asks, only half joking.

I turn to give him a smile as Ava starts reading.

"Not just yet, Dad," I reply.

* * *

I brace myself for the barrage of questions when I enter the diner the next day. I know it is unlikely that Peeta's return has gone unnoticed in this town. I'm not disappointed as there are more people than usual still in the diner when I arrive. All eyes turn to me and I duck my head to try and avoid them. But it's no use.

"Katniss, when did Peeta get back?" Rooba asks.

"Are you guys back together now?" Delly questions.

"Is the town safe with him here?" Ripper calls.

I can't answer their questions. Not when I don't know many of the answers myself. I know my avoidance of them will just cause more gossip but it's more than I can handle. I slink to my office without looking at any of them.

I spend another morning sitting in my office, avoiding the world and trying to think about anything other than Peeta. But eventually my thirst gets the better of me and I venture out on to the main diner floor.

Thankfully the diner is mainly empty, apart from Darius drinking a coffee and Haymitch, as usual, sitting slumped at the counter. I grab the pot of coffee and pour a cup for myself. Haymitch doesn't acknowledge my presence in any way and Darius just gives me a small smile. I'm glad he doesn't ask questions but he's always been good at knowing when to give me space.

Not long after, Joel appears, looking sheepish. He approaches me with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I should have asked you first before hiring him. I just thought him being back meant that you two had made up," Joel says.

"I'm not that desperate for love, Joel," I sigh.

Joel nods his head.

"I can fire him if you want. He's makes pretty good cakes but I can manage. The last thing I want to do is upset you and Ava," he says.

I sigh again.

"I'm still trying to figure things out, Joel. I know how rushed off your feet you have been recently," I reply.

"Just let me know what you decide. And I brought some cheese buns as an apology gift. I know they are your favourite," he says.

My stomach grumbles as Joel pushes the cheese buns in front of me.

"Thank you," I reply.

Joel grins at me.

"And just so you know, I will be keeping a close eye on him. I've already spoken to your dad and we've agreed to have words with him if he does anything to put you and Ava in danger again," he says.

I shake my head.

"You and Dad should never be allowed to drink together," I reply with a smile.

Joel chuckles.

"Your dad did convince me to play strip poker in the middle of the bar the last time we got drunk together. We do bring out the worst in each other," he says.

I shake my head again and then Joel says goodbye and goes back to check up on Peeta.

Not long after, Prim comes breezing through the door, pushing Jacob in his stroller. I try to slyly duck to the back but Prim catches my eye and pins me with a stare that says "Don't you dare". My shoulders deflate in defeat and I turn to face her.

"Good morning, Prim," I say.

"Good morning," Prim replies as she parks the stroller beside Darius. "Can you explain why I had to find out that Peeta is working in the bakery from Mrs Cartwright and not my sister?"

The mention of Peeta's name gets Haymitch's attention and he straightens up to join the conversation.

"The boy's back? And working in the bakery? Would explain why I stumbled into a line coming out the bakery this morning," he says.

Darius gives me a sympathetic smile and I sigh.

"As you can see, I've got a lot on my mind at the moment, Prim," I reply.

Prim shakes her head as she takes a seat at the counter.

"What does this even mean? What does he even want?" she asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

"He says that he wants to be in Ava's life. And that he's quit his brother's gang," I reply.

"And do you believe him?" Darius asks.

"How can I after everything that's happened before?" I say.

Haymitch scoffs.

"It never used to bother you. In fact, I bet it even turned you on a little," he says, tipping his cup at me.

"But things are different now. She has Ava to think about," Prim says.

Haymitch shrugs his shoulder and takes a sip of his drink.

"I'm just saying that she was a lot more tolerable when the boy was sticking her one on a regular basis," he replies.

I grab a dirty dish towel and chuck it at his head. Haymitch's reactions are slow and the soggy rag hits him square on the face. He removes the cloth with a disgruntled moan and flings it to the floor.

"See. You never used to chuck towels at your paying customers," Haymitch replies.

"Just be grateful I don't chuck you out for smelling like a distillery," I snap.

Haymitch just shrugs his shoulders before picking up his hip flask and pouring some of it into his coffee.

I turn back to Prim and Darius and my sister shakes her head.

"Peeta is unbelievable. Is he really that arrogant that he thinks you'll forgive him with just a smile?" she says.

"Every time I think I can't get any angrier at him, he does something like this. I can't think of a way to get him out of town," I reply.

Darius nods his head but sits and listens carefully.

"I may be playing Devil's Advocate, but what if he's serious? What if he really has left all the bank robbing behind and wants to be a proper father to Ava?" he asks.

"You never knew him, Darius. You don't understand the hold his brother has on him. Peeta feels he owes Rye for getting him out of that abusive household and he will do anything for Rye as a result. As soon as Rye asks, he'll go running back," I say.

"Maybe Ava will change that. I've got first-hand experience of how adorable she is. She could make him a better person," Darius says.

"That's a lot of pressure for my five-year-old," I reply. "And I thought you of all people would be warning me off Peeta."

Darius leans back and shrugs his shoulders.

"If he's serious, that's one less criminal on the streets for me to fight," he says with a grin.

We share a smile and Prim's eyebrows knit together in a way that I know means she's thinking hard. After a while she speaks.

"Maybe letting Peeta in is a way to get rid of Rye for good," she says.

"What do you mean?" I ask with a frown.

Prim takes a deep breath as she looks between me and Darius.

"You've said yourself that Rye has always been the problem. If he's in jail then Peeta isn't going to be tempted to slip into his old ways," she says.

"But Rye's too clever. The police aren't even hundred per cent sure his gang commit the robberies. They leave no evidence and hit the banks so randomly that it's impossible for the police to track a pattern. All the stolen money is hidden through casinos," Darius says.

"Yes. But if Katniss gets close to Peeta she could find out information about Rye. You could use it to finally catch him," Prim says.

"I don't know, Prim. I don't like the thought of lying to Peeta," I say.

"But he's lied to you. What the difference? Rye goes to jail and your biggest problem is solved," she replies.

I turn to look at Darius. It is tempting.

"I would never ask you to spy on him. You have to decide this on your own," Darius says.

I spend several minutes debating it in my head. I would love to see Rye in jail and maybe then I could trust Peeta enough to be in Ava's life. Can I really deny her a chance to get to know her father?

"I'll think about it," I eventually say. "There's a lot to weigh up."

Darius and Prim nod their heads but Haymitch just snorts.

"Good luck trying to lie to the boy. You've always sucked at lying," he chuckles.

I throw another towel at him before going back through to my office.

* * *

I pick Ava up after school and drive her to the Donner's farm on the outskirts of the town. They are the only place to have a heated indoor swimming pool and I've been taking Ava there for swimming lessons for years now.

Ava is ecstatic as we drive out and bounces up and down in her car seat. She babbles excitedly about finally getting to swim without her water wings. I laugh at her enthusiasm and look forward to spending some alone time with her. These last forty-eight hours have been emotionally exhausting and everyone has given me an opinion on what I should do. It's nice to know that for the next hour I can just focus on what's really important; my relationship with my daughter.

Ava jumps down from the car once I've unbuckled her and rushes into the changing rooms. I have to remind her to walk so she doesn't slip and she does reluctantly slow down. She continues to jabber away excitedly as we get changed into our bathing suits.

We're the only people at the pool and I slide in first while Ava stands at the side, ready to jump in. I turn to her with a big grin as I stick my arms out.

"How big a splash do you think you can make?" I ask.

Ava bounces at the side and raises her hands as high as she can in the air.

"All the way up to the roof!" she declares.

I chuckle and gesture my hands towards her.

"Okay. Come and show me, you little dare devil," I challenge.

Ava grins at me and then bites her lip as she prepares to jump. She crouches down and pauses for just a minute before flinging herself into the water. I'm immediately covered in a splash of water but reach forward to make sure I catch her. Ava pops her head up from the water and grins at me broadly.

"That was so much fun, Mommy! Can I do it again?" she asks.

I quirk an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you wanted to learn to swim without your water wings?" I reply.

"Oh yeah. I told Toby at school that I was going to. He didn't believe me," she says.

"Well we better prove Toby wrong," I say.

Ava nods her head eagerly and I help her to get back to the edge of the swimming pool. I make sure she clutches the edge tightly before stepping back and creating space between us.

"Okay. Remember what I've taught you. Use your arms to push off the edge, then kick your legs and use your arms to reach me," I say.

Ava nods her head and bites her bottom lip in determination. I grin as I watch her get into position and take a minute to gain the courage to push off. Soon she is pushing off and kicking towards me.

I watch in delight as she manages to keep herself afloat and begins moving her arms in the stroke I showed her. Her little legs make quite a splash behind her but she slowly makes her way towards me.

"That's it, Ava! You're doing great. Keep kicking your legs!" I shout in encouragement.

In a few more strokes she reaches me, coughing and spluttering, but with a huge grin on her face. She grips on to me tightly and turns to look at me.

"I did it, Mommy! I swam all by myself!" she exclaims.

I hoist her up onto my hip and give her a big grin of my own.

"You did. You were amazing. I think you were a dolphin in another life," I reply.

Ava giggles and soon wriggles to get out of my arms.

"I want to go again. I can swim back to the edge," she says.

I nod my head.

"Okay. See how many times you can swim back and forth to me," I say.

"I can do it a hundred times, Mommy," she declares.

"Well if you can count to that many," I say.

Ava nods her head before pushing off my body and swimming back to the edge. She goes in a rather wonky line but gets there eventually. I can't hide the massive proud grin I have on my face as I watch her go.

However, as I am watching her, I suddenly get an image of Peeta. After seeing his pride while looking at Ava's drawings, I know he would have loved to see this moment. He would probably make a cake to celebrate.

I'm now used to experiencing all of Ava's first alone. She was so young when Peeta left that he's missed out on nearly every milestone in her life. It hurt at first whenever she learned to do something new and he wasn't there to see it. I just had to remember how excited he got the first time she ever smiled to know how he would have reacted to each new stepping stone. But the pain faded as the years went by and my bitterness towards him grew. It became easier to forget how good he had been with her those first four months.

I know I have a big decision to make. I don't want Ava to grow up and resent me in later life because I turned her father away. But I still don't trust it to be safe for him to be here. Everything would be easier if he had stayed away.

Ava spends a good five minutes swimming back and forth between me and the wall but eventually tires and wants to play shark attack instead. We stick to the shallow end as I chase her about the pool, pretending to gobble her up. Ava shrieks with delight every time I catch her and I let her clamber up my back to jump off again. We end the afternoon with one more big jump into the pool and then get out to shower before home.

Ava is quieter on the journey back home, tired out from our swimming session, and I grow pensive as we drive. She sings to herself softly and I suddenly wonder what she would think about her dad being back. I ponder it for a while before gaining the courage to ask her.

"Ava, do you ever wish your daddy was here?" I ask.

"My real daddy?" she asks.

"Yes. Do you ever wish you could see him?" I say.

Ava ponders this for a moment as she plays with a pony toy in her hand.

"Toby's dad takes him camping and they build campfires together. They even eat toasted marshmallows!" she replies. "And Lucy's dad takes her ice skating and is teaching her how to do a jump!"

I give Ava a small smile. She's never really known Peeta. Her image of a dad is what her friends have. I don't say anything else as I let Ava finish.

"I guess it would be cool if he could teach me some things. Everyone at school talks about the cool things they do with their daddies but I never get to say anything," she adds.

I nod my head and grow solemn. I remember when they made Fathers' Day cards last year. Ava got very upset because she had no one to give one to. Maybe it's been harder for her than I thought.

I don't ask her any more questions and let her play with her pony for the remainder of the journey.

She rushes inside to tell Mom and Dad how she swam without her water wings today and I drag our things into the house. I made up my mind on the way home and know I have to give Peeta a chance. Ava deserves that. But if I'm going to do that I can't have Rye around. I quickly type a message for Darius.

 _I'll get you information on Rye. X_

I feel slightly guilty sending the message. I'm going ask Peeta to prove to me that I can trust him while lying to him at the same time.

I help Mom with dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening with my family. It takes two stories before Ava agrees to go to sleep and I trudge down the stairs wearily afterwards. I still have work to do for the diner but don't have the energy to do it. When I collapse on to the couch my phone buzzes with a message. I'm surprised to see it's from Peeta when I check it.

 _Can we talk? I can meet you at the bakery. No one else will be around._

I stare at the message for a long while debating whether to go. I'm too exhausted for another fight but it might be a good time to tell him I willing to give him a chance. With a few conditions of course.

I don't tell Mom and Dad where I am going and head out into the dark night.

There is a single light on in the bakery and Peeta is wiping down the counter when I walk in. He gives me a nervous smile before dumping the cloth and coming around to greet me.

"Hey. Thanks for coming. I didn't handle things well earlier," he says.

"You should have talked to me before taking the job. I feel like I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place," I reply.

"I know. I'm sorry. You're right. I don't think before my actions. I just knew I couldn't leave Ava again," he says.

"I still don't know if it safe for you to be in her life," I say.

Peeta nods his head.

"I took this job to prove to you that I am serious about everything. I'm done with my old life. But I also know it's going to take a while for you to believe that," he says.

He looks sincere when he says this and a small part of me really hopes he can do it.

"I don't expect you to let me see Ava straight away. You will decide when it's right for me to meet her. I'll keep my head down until then. I've already asked Joel that I only work in the back and I'll stay out of sight in the evenings and weekends. Ava won't see me wandering around town," he adds.

I'm relieved. My biggest dilemma since he got back is how I was going to explain his presence to Ava. At least this way I won't get any questions from her until I'm sure it's safe.

"Thank you," I reply. "You've got to understand that everything I do comes back to Ava."

Peeta nods his head.

"I do," he says. "Does that mean you will allow it?"

I look him straight in the eye as I answer.

"I'll allow it."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited/reviewed this story so far. It's been fun seeing everyone's questions. We'll learn more about Peeta's past as the story progresses but Katniss isn't going to let him in easily. He has a lot to prove at this point.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm glad so many people are intrigued about how Peeta can change. We've only seen snippets of him so far but there is a lot more of him in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter 4_

Madge sits at the counter, slowly sipping a cup of ginger tea. One hand rubs protectively against her stomach and the other reaches out to stroke the hair of her youngest son. He turns to smile at her before quickly turning back to smear ketchup around his plate with a fry. The twins sit in a booth nearby and have scrunched up the paper we gave them to draw on. They keep themselves busy by throwing balls of paper at each other until one accidently hits Haymitch on the head. The old drunk turns round to glare at them. The twins' eyes widen in fear before they duck their heads and scribble on the bits of paper instead.

Haymitch grunts as he turns back around and bites into a bun.

"I should hire you to discipline my little terrors. I wish I could shut them up with a look," Madge says to him.

"I can't stand little children. They have too much snot and can wail louder than any other species on the planet," Haymitch grumbles.

"I think this grumpy old man thing is all just an act. I saw you sneak Ava a cookie the other day," I reply.

"Well, luckily for you, your daughter has inherited all her charm from her father," Haymitch says.

I scowl at him and yank the cup of coffee out of his hand as he goes to take a sip. Some of the hot liquid spills out and drops on to his pants.

"Holy shit, Everdeen! I could have been burned!" Haymitch declares.

"Stop being a baby. It was only a few drops and you owe some more money to the swear jar," I say. Haymitch glares at me as he tries to wipe the coffee stains off his pants. "And I thought everyone in Seam hated Peeta."

"They did just after he left. He did bring a psycho to town but you know better than anyone how he charmed the town before then. There was a reason no one ratted him out. He made an effort to get to know everyone. It's a shame he fucked it up really," Haymitch replies.

"He was very easy going. You know before he pissed off that casino guy," Madge adds.

I shake my head.

"This town isn't exactly forgiving. I don't know why he wants to live here," I say.

"People are starting to question if he's even still here. Hardly anyone has seen him since that first day in the bakery. Mrs Cartwright is beginning to think the whole town had some sort of joint hallucination," Madge says.

Haymitch snorts.

"Blondie is definitely still here. Joel never made cinnamon buns this good," he says, taking a bite of the bun.

"I'm glad you've found something to soak up all that alcohol," I state.

Haymitch flips me the bird and I sigh before turning back to Madge.

"I told you, he's keeping a low profile until I'm ready for him to meet Ava," I say.

So far Peeta has kept his promise about keeping out of sight. He only goes out into Seam a couple times a week and only at times when Ava is at school. I don't know how he is not going stir crazy with only Joel to talk to but he messages me every day asking questions about Ava. He asks everything from what her favourite colour is to who are friends are at school. After a couple of weeks I started to send him pictures of Ava as well as he was desperate to know what she got up to every day.

All this is good but part of me is expecting for it all to come crashing down.

"How long are you going to make him wait? It's already been six weeks," Madge asks.

I shrug my shoulder as I begin to tidy the menus.

"I don't know. I guess I'm waiting for him to show me that he is serious about everything. I just don't know what that thing is," I reply.

Madge nods her head in agreement.

"It's a horrible situation, Katniss. I don't know how you are keeping it together," she says.

"I have to for Ava. Though I think she knows something is wrong. I feel like I'm constantly on edge at the moment and I think she can sense that," I reply.

Madge nods her head before taking another sip of her tea. She rubs her hand across her belly again and a tinge of jealousy courses through me. She's had the textbook relationship. Boy and girl meet. They fall in love and get married and have kids. No dramas or complications. It's all been easy for her and Gale.

The twins come up to Madge and show her the drawings they made. Madge takes them with a smile but this soon turns to a frown as she tries to figure out the scribbles on the page.

"Wow, honey. Is it a dog?" she asks uncertainly.

"No, Mommy! It's a flying shark!" Aiden replies.

"Of course it is! I like how you used all the colours," she says.

Aiden beams with pride before his brother fights for his mom's attention. Madge quickly glances in my direction and we share a smile. I leave her with her sons and go to refill the napkins but as I move a weary Darius trudges into the diner. He slumps on to the chair next to Haymitch and I frown as I approach him.

"You got any bourbon in that hip flask?" Darius asks Haymitch.

Haymitch raises his eyebrow but digs into his pocket to pull out the drink. I pour Darius a black coffee and he tips a large amount of the liqueur into his drink.

"What's happened?" I ask.

"There was another robbery today. But there were two fatalities. One was a little old lady who was opening a savings account for her grandchildren and the other was a young man who had just found out he was going to be a dad," he replies.

Madge gasps and rubs her hand across her belly again.

"That's awful. There's never been deaths before in a raid," she says.

Darius turns to look at me.

"We don't think it was Rye and his gang. Too much was different. They raided the biggest bank in the district. It was at lunch time, when the branch was full of people. They fired shots. That's not Rye's style," Darius says.

I feel a sense of relief. I know Peeta can't be involved because he messaged me with a picture of the chocolate fudge cake he's made for Ava today. It's her favourite and I called him at lunch to arrange a time to pick it up.

"If it's not Rye, who is it? Do you think it's the same people that killed the brother and sister in Hob?" Madge asks.

Darius shrugs his shoulder.

"It's very likely but we don't know anything about this gang. There are no leads and nothing linking the two crimes together. I hate how we are letting the families of the victims down," he replies.

I reach out to rub one of his shoulders.

"It's early days. Something could still come up," I reassure.

Darius gives me a grateful smile. I smile back at him and then a thought appears in my head. I chew on my bottom lip as I contemplate it.

"I could ask Peeta about the other gang. He'll probably know something about it," I say.

"Are you sure? I know it has not been easy for you to find things out about Rye," Darius replies.

I nod my head. So far I've not found a way to ask Peeta about Rye without it sounding suspicious. I want his brother in jail but the snooping thing is a lot harder than I thought.

"I'm going round to see him after work anyway. I think I know how to bring it up," I say.

Darius gives me another grateful smile.

"Anything you can find out is useful. Even supplying Rye's name to my detective team was helpful," he says.

I smile and plot how I can question Peeta about it later.

* * *

After work I go around to the bakery to pick up Ava's cake. Peeta likes to make her a lot of things while he is at work and my daughter hasn't complained about all the treats I've brought home. Thankfully she hasn't questioned why I keep going to the bakery and her face lights up every time I bring one back. Normally I wouldn't let her eat so many sweets but baking is the only way Peeta feels connected to her at the moment and I feel I should give him this one thing.

Peeta greets me with a warm smile as I knock on the back door but I laugh when I see what he has smeared across his head.

"You look like you have shit on your head," I say as lean forward to wipe the chocolate off.

Peeta looks surprised but I just grin back at him.

"I swear it is just chocolate," he says.

I laugh as I lick the sugary goodness off my finger. We share a grin and are quiet for a moment before Peeta coughs and looks away.

Joel is working in the background, singing rather badly to a Bruce Springsteen record. He turns to smile at me as he hears me enter and turns the radio down to come over to me.

"A pretty girl at the back door reminds me when Beth and I first started dating. We had our first kiss on that very doorstep," he says.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Where you a big romantic then, Joel?" I ask.

"Of course. I still buy her flowers every Friday and take her dancing once a month. I proposed by writing will you marry me on a cake. I have been trying to teach Peeta a few things. That sexy texting thing young people do now isn't the same as a handwritten love letter," he points out.

Peeta and I both laugh.

"Joel's been teaching me loads of stuff. Like how you should always stand closest to the curb when walking with a girl on a sidewalk. That way you protect her from falling on to the road," he says.

I shake my head but don't really like the direction this conversation is going in. I cough loudly and Joel takes the hint and leaves. A slightly awkward silence then falls between Peeta and me.

"Thanks for taking the cakes to Ava. I really appreciate it," he says.

"Ava loves cakes. I find it difficult to deny her," I reply.

"Just like her mother then," Peeta says with a grin.

I roll my eyes before Peeta goes off to retrieve the box. I take it gratefully off him and then chew on my bottom lip as I prepare myself to ask him about the bank robbery today. Peeta stares at me as I make no move to leave.

"Just ask me, Katniss," Peeta says.

"Ask you what?" I ask.

"About the bank robbery today. It's been all over the radio," he says.

I'm a little annoyed that he can read me so easily and huff as I tuck the cake box under my arm.

"I know it can't have been you but Darius thinks it wasn't Rye either," I say.

"And he's right. Today's robbery was amateur. We've never shot at anyone inside the bank. We're not murderers," he replies.

I snort.

"No. Just thieves," I reply.

Peeta sighs and runs a hand through his curls.

"I told you. I'm done. I'll happily write baker down as my profession," he says.

"I still don't know if six weeks is enough to show me you have changed," I reply.

Peeta lets out an exasperated sigh and digs his hand into his pocket. He pulls out his cell phone and taps on the screen until he finds something.

"Look at this. You see how many times Rye has messaged me? But I haven't replied," he says.

I peer at the screen as he scrolls through the dozens of messages Rye has sent him but not once has he replied.

"This was the last message I sent him," Peeta says.

I peer in closer as I read the message that is dated from six weeks ago.

"I'm done. Ava is my only priority," he says.

I take a step back as I contemplate what this means. Peeta looks frustrated and part of me can't blame him. I've not been very clear about what I've been looking for from him.

"So you don't know where Rye is?" I ask.

"No. I don't speak to him anymore," he replies.

I slowly nod my head.

"It's safer for everyone that no one knows where he is. No doubt Cato and Marvel did this stunt today to try and catch Rye's attention," Peeta adds.

I snap my head up and frown.

"Cato and Marvel?" I ask.

"Yeah. They are who robbed the bank today. They've kind of envied how we've worked for years and are trying to take over. That's why the ambushed us at our house and why they are robbing banks now," he replies.

I nod my head in understanding and tuck the information away to tell Darius later. `

Peeta and I are a silent for a long time but eventually I turn to leave.

"Thanks for the cake. I'm sure Ava will love it," I say.

Peeta nods his head a little sadly but then his eyes widen.

"Oh. I almost forgot," he says.

I frown as he turns and leaves the room without any further explanation. He appears again a moment later and hands me an envelope.

"You didn't cash the cheques I sent you before, but I hope you accept this one. I got paid by Joel recently and thought this could help with Ava," he says.

I look up at him, slightly surprised. When he left, he sent cheques every month, as child support. But I never cashed them. Some I sent back to him in shreds. I wasn't going to buy my daughter shoes with stolen money.

I open the envelope and am surprised by how much he has given her.

"This is too much. It must be close to your whole pay check," I say.

Peeta just smiles as he shakes his head.

"It's not exactly like I'm spending lots of money on going out," he says.

I let out a light laugh and look down at the amount again. I then look back up at him with a smile.

"Thank you. She needs new boots for the winter," I say.

"It's no problem. I like knowing I can help her, even if I don't see her," he replies.

I nod my head and begin to see him in a new light. He looks genuinely proud that he earned this money for Ava. I hadn't dared believe that he hadn't talked to Rye but he seems to have left his brother behind.

I make up my mind quickly and know Dad will question to speed of my decision but it suddenly feels right.

"Ava comes with me to the diner on Sundays. It's pretty quiet as everyone is at church or with their families. You could come and join us there, if you want," I say.

I didn't think a smile could get so big. Peeta's shoulders stop sagging and his eyes shine with joy.

"Yes. I'd really like that," he replies.

Warmth spreads out through my chest and I can't help but smile with him.

* * *

Ava is doing her homework when I arrive home and I give her a big smile as I enter. She grins back at me and her eyes go wide when I show her the chocolate fudge cake.

"Is that for me?" she asks eagerly.

"I thought we could have some after dinner," I reply.

Ava licks her lips and nods her head enthusiastically.

"But you can only have some if you eat all your vegetables," I add.

Ava scrunches her nose in disgust.

"I don't have to eat broccoli, do I?" she asks.

"No," I say, reaching out to stroke her head. "But there will be carrot and peas."

"Toby says that you can see in the dark if you eat carrots. Is that true, Mommy?" she asks.

"You will have to eat them tonight to find out," I reply with a smile.

Ava nods her head seriously but tears her eyes away from the cake to finish her math homework. Dad eyes the cake warily as I put it on the counter. I unpack away the rest of my things and Ava soon throws her pencil down triumphantly.

"Finished!" she declares. "Did I get them all right, Grandpa?" she asks.

Dad snaps his head away from the cake to quickly look down at Ava's work.

"Yep. All right. Good job, honeybee," he replies. "You can go and play."

Ava lets out a yelp of delight before dashing out the kitchen. I don't dare turn to face Dad once we're left alone. I'm anxious about telling him about my decision on Peeta. I can feel his stare on me though and he waits several moments before speaking.

"I see he is still determined to buy Ava's love through sweets," he eventually says.

I sigh as I force myself round to face him.

"Ava doesn't even know the cakes are from him," I reply.

Dad scoffs and shakes his head.

"I just wish he'd hurry up and leave. He's doing no good here," he says.

"I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon, Dad. He seems pretty set up in the bakery," I say.

Dad shakes his head.

"I can already see how he's breaking your walls down. He's always had that effect on you. All your worst decisions were because of him. I don't want you making another one," he says.

Anger begins to flare up inside me as my natural defence mechanisms kick it. I stand up tall as I look my dad straight in the eye.

"And if I hadn't made some of those decisions we wouldn't have Ava," I snap.

Dad bows his head and looks ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want either you or Ava to get hurt," he says.

I soften slightly and let my shoulders relax.

"You have to trust me to make the right decisions for Ava. And that includes inviting Peeta to the diner on Sunday," I say.

Dad takes a sharp intake of breath and looks at me with wide eyes.

"You didn't?" he asks.

I nod my head.

"It just felt right when I saw him today. He even gave me a cheque for Ava with honest money he earned. That's a big step for him," I say.

Dad shakes his head.

"It's too soon. Six weeks isn't long enough. And let's not forget that two people were killed in a bank robbery today!" Dad exclaims.

"That wasn't Peeta or Rye," I reply.

"Did he tell you that? And you believe him?" Dad asks in disgust.

"Yes, Dad. I know when Peeta is lying. I might be the only person that does and I believe he's sincere when he says he wants to be there for Ava. Are you going to back my decision or bitch about it until the end of the week?" I say.

Dad sighs in defeat and leans back in his chair.

"Fine. But I'm coming on Sunday too," he grumbles.

I let a small smile slip on my lips.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," I reply.

* * *

Dad doesn't speak to me much at dinner but Ava makes up for it with her constant chatter. She devours her slice of chocolate cake and gets so much chocolate cake smeared across her face that I contemplate forcing her to take another bath.

I manage to tackle her with a face cloth and the bundle her into bed, where I sit with her to read a story. She chooses a _Frozen_ book and laughs when I put on all the voices. But as the story ends, I realise that I have to tell her about Peeta. I can't ambush her with him on Sunday and she will need a few days to get her head around the fact he's back.

Ava giggles once I've finished the story and snuggles back into my arms.

"You're funny, Mommy. Not even Miss Trinket reads stories as good as you," she says.

I smile and place a kiss on top of her head. Ava continues to flick through the pictures as I try to find the right words. My hand goes to the top of her head and begins to stroke it as I build up the courage to speak.

"Ava, I've got something important to tell you," I say.

Ava twists her head up to look at me with a curious look.

"What, Mommy?" she asks.

I take a deep breath.

"Remember how I said that it wasn't safe for your daddy to be in Seam and that's why he can't come and visit you?" I say.

"Because he knows bad men," Ava confirms.

"Yes. There were bad men. But your daddy doesn't know them anymore and it's safe for him to come back," I say.

Ava frowns and looks deeply confused.

"My daddy is coming back?" she asks.

I nod my head.

"Yes. And he would really like to meet you. Would you like that?" I ask.

I bite on my bottom lip as I wait for her to answer. No matter what I told Peeta today, if Ava doesn't want to see him, I won't force her.

Her eyebrows knit even further together and she thinks very hard. A five-year-old should not have to make this decision.

"I don't know what he looks like," she finally says.

My heart breaks as I hear the fear and confusion in her life. Peeta is such an unknown being to her. She doesn't know what to expect. I pull her close and place a firm kiss on her head.

"He's got blond floppy hair and blue eyes just like you. I can show you a picture of him," I say.

Ava nods her head but doesn't say anything else.

"And he loves making cakes and drawing with all the colours in the world. You can ask him all the other things he likes if you meet him," I say.

Ava nods her head again and pauses before turning to speak to me.

"Are you going away, Mommy?" she asks.

I shake my head fiercely and drop my head down to hers.

"No. I would never leave you. If you want to meet your daddy I will be there too. I won't leave you alone with him," I say.

Ava looks at me for a long time but eventually nods her head.

"Okay. I would like to see my daddy," she says.

I give her a smile and bend down to give her a big hug.

"I love you, bug," I whisper.

"I love you too, Mommy," Ava mumbles.

We hold each other tight for a long moment and wish there was an easier way for this to happen.

* * *

It doesn't take much to get Ava to sleep afterwards. I sigh as I pause at the door to check she is sleeping. It's going to be a confusing few days for her. I just hope Peeta proves me right and becomes a good part of her life.

I trudge down the stairs and frown when I see Dad sneaking in through the front door.

"Did you go out?" I ask.

Dad looks a bit sheepish and shuffles about on his feet.

"I went to see Peeta," he admits.

I let out a loud sigh.

"Please tell me you didn't hit him," I say.

Dad shakes his head.

"I'm not that stupid," he replies. "I just told him nicely that I won't stand for him hurting either of you."

I let a small smile cross my face. Whatever happens with Peeta, it's good to know there are people who have my back.

"Thank you, Dad," I reply.

Dad looks a little shocked by my reply but he shares my smile when he catches my eye.

* * *

Sunday comes around way too quickly and I'm not totally prepared for this meeting with Peeta. Ava has been clingier than normal with me and practically hangs off my side in the days leading up to it. I'm still not sure if she's a hundred per cent sure on meeting Peeta but whenever I ask her she says she wants to go.

I'm jittery when I get to the diner and Ava clutches to me tightly as we slide into a booth. Dad slips into the side opposite and scans the area for any signs of Peeta. He's not here. I didn't tell him to meet us for another fifteen minutes but Dad already has his guard up. He sits up straight, holding the menu, but not reading it, as he stares at the door.

Ava clambers into my lap and I turn to ask her what she wants for breakfast.

"Pancakes or waffles?" I ask.

"Can I have both?" she asks hopefully.

She can sense my agitation and knows when to try it on with me.

"How about one pancake and one waffle," I suggest.

Ava nods her head and Lavinia comes over to take our order a minute later. Ava slurps on her orange juice when it is brought over to her and my leg bounces up and down as I keep glancing back at the door.

"It's still not too late to back out. If he's serious about Ava, he won't complain," Dad says.

"No. It's going to be today. I just don't know what to expect," I reply.

Dad nods his head while Ava grabs some crayons to start drawing.

"I'm going to draw you a page of love hearts, Mommy," she declares.

"That sounds great, bug," I say, stroking her head.

Ava looks pleased and hums as she begins to fill the page will different sized hearts.

I glance back at the door before checking the clock on the wall. I don't know how I want this meeting to go. I don't know if I want Ava to be wary of Peeta, the man who once put her in danger or for her to absolutely dote on him. It's been just the two of us for so long that I don't know how I will handle sharing her love.

The drawing keeps Ava busy as I watch the minutes count down on the clock. At ten o'clock a blond bobbing head appears in the distance and not long after Peeta pushes into the diner.

I immediately tense and pull Ava closer in my lap. Ava looks round as she senses my movement and follows my line of sight until she is staring at her dad for the first time she can remember. She goes very quiet and drops the crayon as Peeta gives us a nervous smile and wave before coming over to us.

"Good morning," he says, smiling at Ava. He then turns to my dad. "Good to see you again, Mr Everdeen."

Dad clenches his jaw and tips his head tersely at Peeta.

"Morning," he replies. "I'm just making sure my girls are happy."

Peeta nods his head in agreement before stuffing his hand in his pockets and turning to face me and Ava again.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asks.

Dad, Ava and I all stare at him and I nod my head. Peeta lets outs a sigh of relief and Dad reluctantly shuffles along so Peeta can sit opposite me and Ava. Ava watches him warily and snuggles closer into my chest. There are hardly any new people in Seam so she's not used to meeting strangers. She studies Peeta carefully as I can tell she struggles to figure him out.

Peeta places a plastic container on the table and wipes his hands on his jeans. He gives Ava another nervous smile as he pushes the container towards her.

"Hi, Ava. Did your Mommy tell you anything about me? I'm your dad," Peeta says.

Ava nods her head.

"Mommy showed me photos on Grandpa's computer," Ava replies.

"Your mommy showed me pictures of you too. Can you really swim all by yourself?" he asks.

Ava puts her arms around my neck as she sits up on her knees.

"Mommy takes me swimming every week. She teached me to swim like the big boys and girls," Ava replies.

Peeta grins and leans in closer to us.

"Can I tell you a secret? Your mommy taught me how to swim too. I couldn't swim until I was a grown up," he says.

Normally a comment like this would make my daughter laugh but she doesn't respond in any way and continues to look at Peeta stonily.

The smile slowly drops from Peeta's face and he lets out a sigh as he leans back. He then reaches for the container and pops open the lid.

"I made you some cookies. I drew pictures of Elsa and Olaf on them," he says.

The mention of the _Frozen_ characters piques Ava's interest and she loosens her tight hold on me to lean in and have a closer look. Dad catches my eye over Peeta's shoulder and gives me a look that says _"I told you he was buying her love with sweets."_

Ava sticks her nose in close to the cookies and Peeta smiles. The cookies are beautifully intricate and the _Frozen_ designs much more realistic than any attempt I could ever make. The smell of ginger wafts out from the box and makes my stomach rumble.

"You've watched _Frozen_?" Ava asks.

Peeta beams and nods his head eagerly. Very early on he asked me what her favourite film was and he went out and bought _Frozen_ as soon as I told him.

"Yes. Olaf is my favourite character. I think it's funny when he gets all jumbled up," Peeta replies.

Ava snaps her head up again and tilts it to the side. I know that is one of her favourite parts of _Frozen_ too but she's not sure what to make of Peeta liking it as well. It breaks my heart to see the conflict on her young face.

There was a time she loved Peeta. When she was born she was such a daddy's girl. The first time she ever smiled and laughed was for him. She stopped crying the instant she was in his arms. I have dozens of pictures of the two of them fallen asleep together with her fist wrapped around his finger.

But this man is a stranger to her.

Eventually Ava leans back to sit in my lap. Her eyes never leave Peeta's face.

"Mommy can sing all the words to the songs. And she does the voices when she reads me the stories," Ava says.

I smile at the slight protectiveness in her tone. She doesn't always sing my praises. Peeta and Dad grin too.

"Your mommy sounds very clever," Peeta says.

"Mommy knows everything," Ava declares.

Peeta lets out a small laugh and Dad bites his lip to stop himself from doing so.

Lavinia comes back with our orders and jots down what Peeta wants. Ava slides off my lap as she starts wolfing down her pancake and waffle. Peeta watches with a grin before leaning in to whisper to me.

"I see she gets her appetite from you," he says.

I roll my eyes at him before nibbling on my bit of bacon. The butterflies still swirl around my stomach and make it difficult to eat.

The booth is mainly quiet as people tuck into food but Peeta keeps trying to ask Ava about things I told him she likes. But my daughter is unusually quiet and barely gives him more than one word answers. Dad at least doesn't make things worse and largely stays out of the conversation.

Even though it must be dispiriting for him, Peeta doesn't give up and keeps going until he can find that thing he can connect to Ava with.

As we are eating, Darius strolls past the window and Ava sits up straight as she bangs on the glass to get his attention.

"Darius! Look at all these love hearts I drew!" she says.

Darius stops as she pushes her picture up at the glass. He smiles fondly at her before giving her a thumbs up and pulling a silly face. Ava giggles and Peeta's shoulders slump as he watches the interaction. Darius catches my eye and gives me a small smile before waving again and walking on. Ava huffs as she sits back down.

"Can we go out and see him? I want to give him my picture," Ava says.

"I thought that picture was for me," I say, raising my eyebrow.

"I can draw you another one, Mommy," she says.

"Darius is busy, bug. But I think your daddy would like a picture," I say.

Peeta perks up a little bit and leans closer to him.

"I'd love a picture. I hear you are the best drawer in kindergarten," he says.

The smile drops from Ava's face and she gives him a stony look.

"I don't know what you like," she replies.

Dad and I share a look and he then clears his throat.

"Ava, come and help me choose a song on the jukebox," he says.

Ava nods her head and I move so she can hop out the booth. She takes my dad's hand as she skips to the shiny machine in the corner.

Peeta lets out a heavy sigh as he slumps back into his seat.

"She really adores Darius, doesn't she?" he says.

"We were together for three years. He bought her her first art easel," I reply.

"You guys were pretty serious, huh?" he says.

I smile and shake my head.

"Yes. He's still a good friend," I reply. "But be careful. You almost sound jealous. Though I hardly believe you were celibate all these years."

Peeta lets out a laugh as he picks up one of Ava's crayons and starts sketching on a napkin.

"No. There were maybe a few girls," he says with a grin.

I laugh and Peeta sighs again.

"I am jealous though. I'm jealous that she loves him," he says.

I give him a sad smile and reach out to touch his hand. Peeta startles at my touch and looks up from his sketch. I look him straight in the eye.

"Give it time," I say, running my thumb over the top of his hand.

Peeta smiles at me gratefully and I remove my hand as Dad and Ava come back. Ava slides back into my lap but her eyes widen when she catches sight of Peeta's sketch.

"Did you draw that?" she asks.

Peeta looks up, startled that she asked him a direct question. He looks back down at his drawing before looking back at Ava.

He's drawn a mockingjay, its wings wide as it is captured in mid-flight. It's a rare bird in Seam these days but Ava loves it when we spot some and make them whistle a tune.

"Yeah. Mockingjays are my favourite birds," Peeta replies.

"Me too," Ava replies. "Mommy and I whistle this tune when we see them."

Ava then purses her lips together and whistle a four-note tune. Peeta smiles, probably remembering how I taught him the same tune eight years ago.

"But I can't draw them. I try and I try but they always go wrong," Ava adds.

Peeta beams and leans in closer as he senses a small opening.

"I can teach you. I know drawing is the one thing Mommy isn't good at," he says.

"Hey!" I proclaim. "I can draw pretty awesome stick people."

"Stick people are for babies, Mommy," she says matter of factly.

We all share a grin before Peeta gets some paper and hands a crayon to Ava.

"Are you ready to start? I'll go through it slowly," Peeta says.

Ava nods her head and grips on to her pencil tightly. She's been wanting to draw a mockingjay for ages but gets easily frustrated when it's not perfect. Some of her biggest tantrums have happened as she has torn up all her various attempts.

But Peeta is patient with her and talks her through it step by step. By then end she has drawn more than an acceptable looking mockingjay.

"I did it, Mommy! I drew a mockingjay!" she exclaims.

"It's beautiful, bug," I say, kissing her head. "I think you need to say thank you to your daddy."

Ava turns to Peeta.

"Thank you, Daddy," she says before turning back to me. "I'm going to take it into school to show."

The grin on Peeta's face is impossibly wide as she says this.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that is still following this story. I'm glad so many people like the scenes with Ava and there are plenty featuring her in this chapter. Peeta needs to build his relationship with her before anything can happen with Katniss.**

* * *

 _Chapter 5_

Ava plays with her toy kitchen in the corner. She chats to herself as she mixes imaginary recipes and serves plates of plastic food. My head is bent over the diner's inventory as I try to work out what we need to order. Ava trots over to me and places a plastic plate down beside me.

"Here's some food for you, Mommy. Miss Trinkett says food helps you concentrate," she says.

I turn to smile at her and have to bite back a laugh when I see she has served me plastic cake with peas. She's even stuck a fake candle on the top of the cake.

"Thank you, bug. It looks yummy" I say.

Ava nods her head.

"You need to blow the candle out, Mommy. Then you can have a wish!" she replies.

I laugh and pick up the plastic bit of cake. I blow out the toy candle and then pretend to take a big bite.

"Mmm. This is the yummiest cake I've ever eaten!" I exclaim.

Ava smiles proudly and swings back and forth on her feet.

"Even better than the ones from the bakery?" she asks.

I lean down with a smile on my face.

"Definitely better than the ones in the bakery," I reply.

Ava giggles and my dad then enters the room. Ava turns to beam at him before scampering over to him and flinging her arms around his legs.

"I'm cooking, Grandpa. What do you want?" she asks.

Dad reaches down to stroke the top of her head as he smiles fondly at her.

"Well, your grandma won't let me eat any bacon. Bacon on toast would be brilliant," Dad replies.

Ava nods her head and dashes over to her toy kitchen to put the plastic bread in the toy toaster and she makes sizzling noises as she pretends to cook the toy bacon.

I smile at Dad as he takes a seat nearby and opens an outdoor sports magazine. The room is silent apart from Ava's ramblings and she hands the little plate to Dad with a big smile.

"Here you go, Grandpa! It's a secret recipe," she says.

Dad smiles as he pretends to take a bite.

"Wow. I think Mommy should hire you to work at the diner," Dad says.

Ava giggles and I turn to give her a smile.

"Maybe you should make something for your daddy. He'll be here soon," I suggest.

This stops Ava and she gets a little frown on her face.

"But I don't know what he likes," she replies.

"His favourite food is mashed potatoes with peas," I say.

Ava nods her head seriously before walking back to her kitchen. But she rushes over a minute later to swipe the plastic peas off my plate.

"I need these, Mommy. You took too long to eat them," she says.

I smile at her before she goes back to her cooking and I notice Dad's jaw tense at the mention of Peeta. I sigh as I turn to look at him.

"What time is he coming over today?" he asks.

"In about half an hour. He's helping Ava make a gingerbread house," I reply.

Dad nods his head and fixes his eyes on Ava. She is slowly beginning to warm to Peeta. He's seen her half a dozen times in the last three weeks and each time she opens up a little bit more to him. Her curiosity is getting the better of her and her questions about him are becoming more frequent. She no longer clings to me as if I am her lifebelt in a stormy sea whenever she sees him.

I've had to drag up long neglected images of him to show her and tell her more about him. It's strange looking at the images from so long ago. I'm struck just how naïve I was back then and I can barely remember being the girl that looked at him like he was the only light in the darkness.

"You know you don't have to stay and watch him while he's here," I say to Dad.

He shakes his head.

"I still don't trust him, Katniss," Dad replies.

"I know. And part of me is terrified that he's going to fuck things up again. But you can't deny how good he's been with her. He's been unbelievably patient," I say.

"I don't doubt that he loves Ava. But I'm scared of her loving him. I've already had to pick you up once after he broke your heart. I don't want to do the same with Ava," he says.

"That's the hardest thing about this all. I don't have full control," I reply.

Dad turns to give me a sad smile.

"He better prove me wrong," he says.

I nod my head before turning back to the diner's inventory. Dad buries his nose in the magazine and none of us our disturbed until the doorbell rings a little while later.

Peeta greets me with a warm smile and rubs his hands to get warm as I let him in.

"Thanks for letting me come today," he says.

"You don't need to thank me every time you see her," I reply.

Peeta grins at me as he takes off his woolly hat.

"I forgot displays of gratitude make you uncomfortable," he says.

"That's not true," I protest.

"Sure it is," Peeta says with a grin. "I still remember you feigning sickness to get out of receiving a bunch of flowers in thanks for organising the charity talent show."

"If you had remembered correctly, Ava must have just been conceived. I genuinely had morning sickness," I reply.

"No one gets morning sickness two days after conception. Just admit you were embarrassed about going up on stage and have everyone clap for you," he says.

"You certainly didn't have that problem. I saw the video of you accepting the flowers on my behalf. The impromptu song in the middle was interesting," I say.

"At least no one has forgotten about it," he replies with a grin.

I shake my head at him and let the subject drop. Peeta carries a bag of baking ingredients and dumps them in the kitchen before following me through to Ava. He gives my dad a cheery wave when we enter but his eyes soon zone in on Ava. Ava stops singing to turn and look at him.

"Hello," she says a little shyly.

She then quietly trots up to him and presents him a plastic plate of food.

"Here are some mashed potatoes with peas. Mommy said they are your favourite," she says.

Peeta smiles broadly at her before crouching down beside her.

"They are my favourite. What's your favourite food?" he asks.

"Chocolate cake and ice cream. But Mommy only lets me have it on special days," she replies.

"Your mommy is right. I once ate so much of my favourite candy that I was sick. Now I get sick just looking at them," he replies.

"Is that why your favourite is mashed potatoes and peas?" Ava asks.

Peeta grins.

"Maybe," he replies. "What else have you been making?"

Ava turns back to her kitchen before telling him what she made for me and Dad. I go over to join them and put a hand on Ava's shoulder.

"Your daddy has brought ingredients to make a gingerbread house. Are you excited to make one?" I say.

Ava bobs her head.

"There's a competition at school but Mommy always burns the things we make," she says.

"Mommy is pretty bad, isn't she? She once put meat in a dessert!" Peeta exclaims.

"You still ate it," I point out.

"I didn't want to make you feel bad," Peeta replies. "But I was sick all the next day!"

I shake my head and Peeta then leans in closer to Ava.

"I got you an early Christmas present. Do you want to open it?" he asks.

Ava looks to me and silently asks if this is okay. I nod my head and she looks up at Peeta cautiously.

"Where is it?" she asks.

"In the kitchen. We need it before me can make our gingerbread house," Peeta replies.

Ava nods her head before following Peeta into the kitchen. Peeta pulls out a chair for her and she scrambles onto the chair and patiently waits as Peeta reaches into the carrier bag and pulls out a neatly wrapped present with a green bow on top. He passes it to her carefully. The paper is torn in a matter of moments to reveal a bright red apron with the words _Chef Ava_ on it.

"That's my name!" she declares as she points at the letters.

"I made it specially for you. Now you can be a proper chef when you bake," Peeta replies.

Ava smiles and puts it round her neck. She turns to ask me to tie the bow. I do as she asks and she turns back to Peeta.

"Thank you. Red's my favourite colour," she says.

"Your mommy told me. I have one too. But it's orange. That's my favourite colour," he says.

Peeta then pulls out a matching orange apron with the words _Chef Daddy_ written on the top.

"Orange is a good colour. Buttercup is orange and Darius' hair but my favourite things are red. Apples, strawberries and Elmo," Ava declares.

"You forgot about jelo and ladybugs," Peeta replies.

"Oh yeah. I told you red was the best," she says.

I smile to myself but Peeta catches my eye. He grins at me as he begins setting out the ingredients.

"I would get you a green apron but I don't know if it's safe to have you in the kitchen," he says.

"Who said green was still my favourite colour?" I say playfully.

Peeta laughs but Ava tugs on his arm, impatient to get started.

"Can we start?" she asks politely.

"Of course. Just let me get a big mixing bowl," he says.

Ava nods her head and I settle down opposite to try and finish the inventory check while they bake.

Peeta is extremely good as he teaches Ava to carefully measure the ingredients. She sticks out her tongue as she concentrates on stirring the mixture and Peeta offers words of encouragement throughout. He takes over for the last little bit and quickly gets the mixture to the right consistency. I find it difficult to concentrate on my work as I watch Ava proudly lift the mixture out of the bowl.

Peeta makes sure she places it carefully on the table before turning to grab the bag of flour.

"We need to put floor on the table so the mixture doesn't stick to the table when we roll it," he says. "How much flour do you think we should put down?"

"Not too little and not too much," Ava replies.

Peeta nods his head before dipping his hand in the flour to bring some out.

"This much?" he asks, displaying his hand full of flour to Ava.

"Too much," Ava says shaking his head.

"We better get rid of some then," Peeta says.

He then blows on the top of the flour and it puffs into Ava's face.

Ava shrieks with delight and tries to wipe it off with her nose.

"That was naughty!" she exclaims.

Peeta shrugs his shoulder as he grins at her.

"Do I still have too much?" he asks.

Ava nods her head with a smile on her face. Peeta then offers his hand closer to her and she leans forward to blow some into his face. He becomes covered and she laughs when she sees him.

"You look like a ghost!" she says.

"A friendly ghost, I hope. Do you think if I put a carrot on my nose I would look like Olaf?" he asks.

Ava shakes her head.

"No. You're a ghost," she replies.

Peeta grins again before she leans in and blows more in his face. Peeta pretends to look shocked before he picks up some more flour and blows it in her direction. I give up trying to do any work as I watch them engage in a flour battle. They make a complete mess but I find it difficult to be mad when I see the complete joy on my daughter's face.

After a while though Peeta turns in my direction and gives me a sneaky smile.

"Mommy doesn't have any flour on her," he says.

I shake my head furiously at him.

"Don't you dare, Ava. If you get flour on me, I'm writing to Santa and getting him to put you on the naughty list," I warn.

"Don't worry, Ava. We can bake cookies for Santa and he'll put you back on the nice list," Peeta says.

Ava grins at me. My usual stern mommy stare isn't working.

"We're going to get you, Mommy!" she declares.

The three of us have a standoff for a few seconds but I glance quickly in the direction of the door and then make a dash for it. I hear the scraping of chairs soon after and Ava and Peeta chase me out into the hallway. It doesn't take much for them to corner me and cover me in flour. I put my hands up in surrender.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" I concede.

Ava and Peeta both laugh and Peeta reaches out to wipe some flour out of my hair.

"I think Mommy has enough flour on her to bake her in the oven," he laughs.

"I don't think Mommy would taste very good," she says.

I try to scowl at them but find it difficult to hide the smile on my face.

"I think you better bake those cookies for Santa to get back on his good list," I say.

Peeta grins at me and Ava bobs her head enthusiastically before dashing back to the kitchen.

* * *

We all shower before we put the gingerbread in the oven and make some extra gingerbread men to take to Santa. Ava gets concerned that Santa will be mad at her so we decide to leave the construction of the gingerbread house and head to the General Store to see the Santa there.

Ava skips beside me as we walk through the parking lot and towards the store. The General Store looks like Santa has puked Christmas inside of it. Tinsel and coloured lights hang from every available surface. Corny Christmas music blasts out over the PA system and the whole place smells like mulled wine. With Christmas only two weeks away the place is packed with weary Christmas shoppers.

Ava tugs on my hand, eager to get to the small Santa's grotto in the back corner. Several people offer us warm greetings as we push through the store but most just give Peeta a tentative nod of the head. Just like my dad, Seam still doesn't know if they can trust him.

Unsurprisingly, the line for Santa is long and I huff as we join the end of it. I look at my watch as Ava stands on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse of Santa at the front. Delly and her three children stand in front of us and she gathers her children around her as she catches sight of us.

"How lovely to see you, Katniss. I haven't seen you the last few times we've popped into the diner," she says.

I haven't stayed out front in the diner much these last three weeks. Whenever I have I get an interrogation about Peeta. Now he's met Ava he moves about town more freely and people are curious about what he's up to.

"There's a lot of paperwork keeping me busy. I'm taking a break from it now so we can come and see Santa," I reply.

Delly nods her head but her eyes flick to Peeta.

"I would have thought Joel would have chained you to the kitchen at the bakery. Christmas is his busiest time," she says.

"One of his sons is back for the holiday period and helping out. Joel understands that I have other priorities," he replies.

Delly smiles a less than sincere smile and then turns to look at Ava.

"Of course you have. Ava, are you enjoying having your daddy back?" she asks.

Ava snaps her head away from Santa to turn and look at Delly.

"He makes really good cakes. Our gingerbread house is going to win the competition at school. We're even melting candy to make windows!" Ava replies.

Delly laughs.

"Wow. I better watch out. I've won that competition the last two years," she says.

"Time for a new winner then," Peeta says with a good-natured smile.

Delly smiles at him again but the line starts to move. She places her hands on the tops of her kids shoulders to get them to move forward.

"Lovely talking to you but I need to keep an eye on these lot," she says.

"Nice talking to you, Delly," Peeta says.

Delly gives us one last smile before turning to her children. She bends down to whisper in their ears.

"Make sure you stay away from that man, kids. He's done some bad things," she says.

Thankfully Ava doesn't seem to hear the comment and turns to us to ask some questions about Santa. Peeta takes a deep breath as he tries to ignore Delly's words. I reach out to gently place my hand on his arm.

"I don't think you could have handled that any better," I say.

Peeta gives me a soft, gentle smile and I find myself instinctively rubbing his arm to reassure him. Ava starts to whine when she realises that we aren't paying attention to her.

"Mommy! Are you listening? How does Santa get into the houses that don't have chimneys?" she asks.

I drop my hand from Peeta's arm and bend down to talk to her.

"He's magic. He can make chimneys and fireplaces appear by waving his hand," I reply.

Ava thinks about it for another moment but soon accepts this answer. She doesn't wait long before she fires off her next question. Peeta and I end up fielding off question after question for the remainder of our time standing in the line.

Ava is giddy when it is finally her time to meet Santa. She drops my hand and jumps into his lap. Joel takes on the role of Santa every year and lets out a small huff as she catches him by surprise. Peeta and I share a smile.

"Hello, Santa. I made you some gingerbread men," she says.

Joel takes the small container off Ava and marvels at her creations.

"Well thank you. They are very nicely decorated. Even better than the ones in the bakery," he says.

"My daddy helped me make them," Ava replies.

Joel looks over to Peeta and they share a smile.

"Is that your daddy over there?" he asks.

Ava nods his head.

"He had to stay away for a while but now he's back. I think he was on the naughty list last year but he's teached me how to draw mockingjays and make gingerbread houses. He should be on the nice list this year," she says.

Joel chuckles.

"It sounds like he is being a good daddy. I'll make sure he's on the nice list this year. But what about you? Have you been good this year?" he asks.

Ava nods her head.

"I eat all my vegetables and clean my teeth when Mommy tells me to," Ava replies.

"That's great to hear. And remember to look after Buttercup too," Joel says.

"How do you know about Buttercup?" Ava asks excitedly. "He's not being a very good cat this year. He scratches Mommy and kills baby birds."

"Santa knows everything. And it sounds like I won't be leaving anything for Buttercup under the tree," he says.

Ava giggles and then Joel asks her what she wants for Christmas. She chatters for ages as she describes the exact bike she wants for Christmas. Eventually it is our time to move on and Joel gestures for us to come and take a picture.

"It's picture time," he says.

I smile as I go to join them but Peeta stands back. I turn to look at him expectedly.

"Aren't you going to join us?" I ask.

"I thought you would want a picture with just you two," he replies.

"Don't be silly. Ava should have a picture with both her parents in it," I say.

Peeta smiles and stands for a moment before coming to join us. Ava stays sitting in Santa's lap while we stand behind the chair. Peeta reaches out to put his hand on my waist as we pose for the picture. It's a familiar sensation, feeling his hand on my back, and the warmth of his touch means I don't pull away quickly once the photo has been taken.

Ava gives Joel a hug before jumping off his lap and we make our way to get the photo. However, on the way we bump into a very harassed looking Gale. The twins run between the shelves, pretending to be cowboys, while Dylan wriggles about in his arms, crying about not getting any candy.

He does a double take when he sees Peeta with Ava and me and stops to talk to us.

"I was wondering when I would bump into you again. I just assumed it would be in the bar and not when I am on babysitting duty," he says.

Gale and Peeta were good friends the last time Peeta stayed here. They are both competitive and would spend many nights in the local bar challenging each other to darts and pool competitions.

"I know. We're both responsible parents now. Who would have thought it?" Peeta says.

They both share a grin and Peeta relaxes when he realises Gale doesn't hold a grudge.

"I'm starting to feel like an old man. I'm going to have to sell the bike to pay for a mini-van now we've got our fourth on the way. And instead of spending a Saturday afternoon in the pub, Madge has left me looking after the kids all day," he says.

"I'm assume she is resting peacefully at home while she grows your child in side her," I say with a grin.

Gale shakes his head.

"I don't know how she looks after the three of them on her own all the time. I don't have enough hands, Katniss, to control them all!" Gale replies.

"I hear bribery works well with kids," Peeta says.

"I told them if they behaved we'd get Christmas cookies but they don't seem to have taken notice," he replies.

I try to hide a laugh as I see my friend so frazzled. I think he underestimates how much Madge has to deal with while he's at work.

And just as we are speaking, Hunter clambers up some steps that have been left in one of the aisles. Aiden comes zooming around the corner and whips his head around as he tries to find his brother.

"I'm here!" Hunter calls. "Prepare to die!"

"Hunter, get down from there now!" Gale calls.

"Daddy! You're ruining the game!" Aiden whines.

"Get down now or no TV for the rest of the weekend!" Gale orders. "And Santa is watching!"

Joel looks around as he hears the commotion and decides to help Gale out when he spots the twins. He gets off his chair to come and speak to them.

"I hope I have two good little boys round here or otherwise I'm going to have to send back those two super soakers back to the workshop," Joel bellows in his stern Santa voice.

Both boys snap their heads to look at him.

"Don't do that, Santa. We'll be good. We promise!" Aiden replies.

"Yes, Santa. I'm coming down now," Hunter adds.

However, Hunter doesn't climb down the steps. He decides to leap off the top and crashes into Joel. Joel topples to the ground and bangs into a nearby display of soup cans. Hunter lands safely on top of Joel but the stand of cans wobbles before crashing to the floor. One even hits Joel on the head, knocking him out.

Peeta, Gale and I rush over to Joel and Gale yanks the twins towards him.

"Look what you've done now. I'm taking away your toy cars when we get home," he says.

Hunter starts crying and clutches to his dad's leg.

"I'm sorry! Did I kill Santa?" he cries.

I bend down to tend to Joel while Peeta clears the tins from around him. Ava wraps her hand around my arm as she looks concerned at the still unconscious Santa.

"Is Santa okay, Mommy?" she asks.

Just as she asks this, Joel groans and his eyelids flutter open. Ava lets out an audible sigh of relief while Hunter and Aiden continue to cry as Gale scolds them.

"Are you okay? Do you know where you are?" I ask.

Joel groans again as he tries to sit up. But he winches and puts a hand to his head.

"Beth? Is that you? Is it morning already?" he asks.

Peeta and I share a look.

"I think he's concussed. He should go to the hospital," he says.

I nod my head in agreement just as the store manager comes rushing up. Peeta calls an ambulance as the manager shakes his head.

"This is a disaster! We still have a forty minute line of kids waiting to see Santa," he declares.

Gale manages to get the twins under control and turns to the store manager.

"I'm so sorry. I'll pay for any damages done," he says.

The manager doesn't look impressed.

"Next time leave your kids at home. They are not allowed back in here," he says.

Gale ducks his head.

"Madge is going to kill me," he mutters. "I'm so sorry. Again."

But the manager just puts up his hand and shakes his head.

"Just take them out of here," he says.

Gale hangs his head shamefully and drags his kids out the shop. I feel sorry for him as the twins start crying and whining again.

Ava keeps a tight grip on me and looks concerned at Santa.

"How is Santa going to deliver all the presents?" she asks.

I bend down to give her a reassuring hug.

"Santa is going to be okay. He's magic, remember. He gets better faster than normal people," I say.

Ava nods her head but still doesn't look convinced. Meanwhile, Peeta is talking to the manager. The manager looks a bit more relaxed and nods his head a lot. Eventually they shake hands and Peeta comes over to join us. He smiles kindly at Ava and reaches out to stroke her hair.

"Santa has asked me to stay and help him. Do you mind if we make the gingerbread house another day?" he asks.

Ava looks over his shoulder and towards Joel. At least Joel is sitting up know and the manager is asking him some questions. Ava studies Joel for a moment and then turns back to Peeta.

"Santa needs you, Daddy," she says.

He smiles at her again and leans in to give her a kiss.

"Thank you. I think your gingerbread men will help Santa feel better," he says.

Ava beams, glad she can help Santa in a small way and then both Peeta and I stand up. I look at him quizzically once we've fully straightened.

"What are you up to?" I whisper.

Peeta gives me a small smile.

"I said I'd fill in for Joel for the rest of the day. I can't leave kids disappointed," he says.

We both turn to look at the line of kids waiting for Santa. Many are visibly upset and I know many will need to see a fit and healthy Santa to avoid nightmares tonight. I turn to Peeta with an appreciative smile.

"You're full of surprises," I reply.

He smiles back at me.

"I hope this time it's a good surprise," he says.

I laugh and nod my head and I remember one of the things that made me fall in love with him all those years ago. Even though he robbed banks for a living he would often show acts of thoughtfulness and kindness that endeared him to me and this town. Whether it was fixing Ripper's car free of charge or tutoring the Donner kids in math, he was nearly always helping someone. It's been easy to forget his good qualities these last few years but I'm glad to see that the good inside him is still there.

Ava looks up at him a little worried.

"Can you come for dinner after you've helped Santa? Grandma is making spaghetti," she says.

Peeta looks down surprised. So far all their meetings have been dictated by me. This is the first time Ava has asked for him.

"If you want me to. I should be finished helping Santa by then," he says.

Ava nods her head, relieved.

"We can pick you up," I add.

Peeta looks at me with a big smile.

"I can't wait," he replies.

Ava grins and even reaches up to give him a hug before we say our goodbyes and leave.

* * *

Ava fills my dad with tales of how her daddy is saving Santa. Mom made Dad go to the bar this afternoon so he is a little bit tipsy and struggles to concentrate on Ava as she bounds about the room, re-enacting this afternoon's events. Thankfully the few drinks have helped soften Dad up and for the first time doesn't come across as if he hates Peeta. He doesn't even make a comment when I mention that Peeta's coming for dinner. I hope this is the start of Dad trusting my decision.

Mom accepts a dinner invitation at the Cartwrights meaning that we can spend the evening with Peeta alone. Ava is full of questions about Santa as we drive to pick Peeta up. She's still a little concerned that he's not going to be well enough to deliver all the presents but her eyes light up when she sees Peeta sitting in the Santa costume as he talks to the last couple of boys and girls.

"Look, Mommy! Santa is better!" she exclaims. "Do you think Daddy made him better?"

"Of course," I reply. "Your daddy knows that milk and cookies are the only medicine Santa needs."

Ava nods her head as she fixes her eyes back at Peeta. I'm thankful that she doesn't seem to recognise him under the beard and glasses.

"I wish my medicine could be milk and cookies," she sighs.

I give her hand a little squeeze as I smile down at her. She turns her head up to look at me with hopeful eyes.

"Sadly you are not magic like Santa," I reply.

Ava sighs again and scuffs her shoe as Peeta finishes up with the last little boy. It's funny to see him dressed in the scarlet suit with a pillow stuffed up his front. But he seems completely at ease in it. The little boy on his lap laughs as Peeta pretends to steal his nose and Peeta listens carefully as the boy describes what he wants for Christmas. The boy's mom keeps her eyes fixed on her son and beams with happiness at seeing the joy on her child's face. I look around the store and realise that several other people are looking in Peeta's direction with admiration and I wonder if this will help the town accept him again. I know it's made me see him in a different light.

The little boy finally slides off Peeta's lap and Peeta spots us by the door of the store. His eyes are bright as he smiles broadly and gives us a wave.

"Mommy, Santa is waving at me!" Ava exclaims, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"He remembers how you helped him earlier," I reply.

Ava nods her head eagerly.

"Do you think I will be on the extra nice list now?" she asks.

I laugh and give her hand a squeeze.

"Absolutely," I reply.

Ava grins and I distract her with the toy display while Peeta quickly changes out of his costume.

His curls are matted and stuck to his head when he greets us but his eyes shine when he sees how excited Ava is to see him.

"You saved Santa! I can't wait to tell all my friends at school!" she declares.

"A bang to the head wasn't going to stop Santa! He told me he can't wait to deliver all the presents," Peeta replies.

Ava smiles at him and starts a discussion about how Santa can get around the world in one night. She slips her hand into Peeta's as we make our way to the car and Peeta takes every one of her theories seriously. I smile and lean in to whisper in his ear.

"You looked like you were having way too much fun in that Santa costume," I say.

He turns to me with a grin.

"It was rather comfy. I'm thinking about buying one for social occasions," he replies.

I laugh.

"I wouldn't bet against it. You didn't like to take off your Iron Man costume you used to have," I say.

"Now that was a cool costume. It's a shame Gale threw up all over it," Peeta replies.

I laugh but Ava tugs on Peeta's hand.

"Daddy, keep listening!" Ava demands.

Peeta and I laugh before he turns back to her and makes sure he keeps his attention solely on her for the rest of our journey back home.

I reheat the spaghetti Mom made earlier and then we all collapse on to the couch to watch an animated movie of Ava's choosing. It's one with singing animals and she curls up in my lap as it starts. She forces me to sing along with her and tells Peeta which funny parts to look out for. It feels like a very normal way to spend a Saturday night.

About half way through the film a lion jumps out unexpectedly and gives Peeta a fright. He jumps in his seat and Ava snaps her head to look at him. She then untangles herself from my arms and crawls across to the other side of the couch. She slips into Peeta's lap and puts her arms around him.

"It's okay, Daddy. It's not a real lion. And they manage to get away," she says.

Peeta smiles at her and pulls her closer into his lap.

"Thank you for looking out for me," he replies.

They both share a smile before Ava snuggles back in his arms. Peeta keeps smiling as he places a kiss on the top of her head. He barely watches the rest of the film because he is too busy watching the little girl wrapped in his arms.

Ava falls asleep in his lap after the film ends and he continues to smile as he brushes some of her hair back.

"I'm not being biased, but she's perfect, isn't she?" he says.

"You should see her when I have to get her in the bath," I reply.

Peeta and I share a grin before he turns back to look at her. A warmth spreads in my heart as I see how cosy they are together.

"So she's worth it then?" I ask.

Peeta looks back to me and smiles as he nods his head. His love for her is so clear in that moment.

"Absolutely. I should have stopped it all a long time ago. Probably from the moment we found out you were pregnant," he says. "I hate that I've missed so much of her life."

"I didn't think you would ever be able to give it up," I admit.

Peeta nods his head as he continues to stroke Ava's hair.

"I do miss it. And I miss Rye," he replies.

"I don't know if I want to hear that," I say.

Peeta shrugs his shoulder.

"I need to be honest with you. It was such a huge part of my life for so long," he says.

I duck my head as I nod. I chew on my bottom lip as I become a little ashamed about how I am lying to him. How I am spying on him to put his brother away while he is doing everything to be honest with me.

"I was scared shitless the first time I ever did it. I think I threw up three times before we hit the bank," he says.

"But you still agreed to do it anyway," I reply.

He nods his head.

"Rye had just lost his job and we needed rent or be evicted. We hadn't eaten a full meal in a week. You do reckless things when you are desperate," he says.

Part of me can understand how Peeta fell into bank robbing. His childhood was a lot more abusive than mine and nearly everyone in his neighbourhood was involved in crime in some way. But I still can't understand why he kept on doing it. He's smart and could have so easily got out of that place.

"I was a nervous wreck right up until the point that we stormed the bank. Then the adrenaline kicked in and my whole body became wired. It's the best high I've ever experienced. As soon as we left I knew I had to do it again," he says.

I nod my head sadly.

"They say addicts run in the family. My grandfather was a gambler, my mother a drunk. Me. I was addicted to bank robbing. I was chasing that high every time we hit one up," he adds.

I nod my head again as I think carefully about his words.

"I don't think you are addicted to bank robbing, just the adrenaline rush. You just need to find something that gives you the same feeling," I reply.

"What? Like skydiving? That's an expensive hobby," he says with a grin.

I laugh.

"Maybe. Or it could be walking on hot coals, for all I care. As long as it's legal," I say.

Peeta grins back at me and Ava stirs slightly in his arms.

"You're actually pretty smart," he says.

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly.

"I did graduate high school," I say.

Peeta laughs and we share a grin. I feel like I understand him better now, maybe even better than when we were together.

* * *

Our conversation makes me think for the rest of the week. I meant what I said about Peeta needing to find something else to give him an adrenaline rush and I try to work out what that could be. It is only after talking to Madge that I remember that Gale is trying to get rid of his motorbike. I give him a quick phone and use all my emotional blackmail to knock down the price. On Christmas Eve, I wheel the bike round to Peeta's apartment at the bakery.

Peeta looks surprised when he sees me and his eyes widen even further when he sees the bike.

"I didn't think we were meeting for another hour," he says as he steps out onto the sidewalk.

"I wanted to give you your present without a little monkey climbing all over it," I say.

Peeta laughs but shakes his head.

"You can't give me this, Katniss. I didn't get you anything," he says.

I smile back at him.

"The sheer volume of presents you got Ava is enough for me. I only care about seeing her happy tomorrow," I say.

"Still, a motorbike. That's too much," he says.

"I got a good deal from Gale. I thought it could help with your adrenaline rush withdrawal symptoms. There's loads of land by the Donner's farm where you can take this and race as fast as you like," I reply.

A slow smile spreads across Peeta's face and he steps forward to place a hand on the handle bars. He strokes the bike lovingly as he drifts off to some other place. Eventually he looks back at me with a warm grin.

"Thank you. It's probably the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me," he says.

"You haven't seen what Ava's made for you yet," I reply.

Peeta laughs and then tips his head towards his apartment.

"Do you want to come in for a moment? I've got some leftover red velvet cake which needs to be eaten. It can be my pathetic attempt at your gift," he says.

"Sure. I can't turn down free food," I reply.

We share a smile before I follow Peeta into his apartment. Peeta puts the kettle on and cuts slices of cake while he waits for it to boil. I take a seat at his kitchen table and survey the rest of the room. I'm hit by just how many of Ava's pictures cover his walls. She's been rather zealous this week and I've nearly run out of paper as she's drawn him pictures of snowmen, reindeer and Christmas trees.

When I look back at the table I notice that a Christmas card is lying open, next to a crumpled envelope. I peer at the card closely and I'm shocked to see Rye's handwriting.

"Rye sent you a Christmas card," I state holding the card up.

Peeta turns to me with a sigh as he places the cake in front of us.

"It came this morning. He's still pissed with Cato and Marvel but is safe for now," he says.

"Did you send him one?" I ask, a little coldly.

Peeta shakes his head.

"No. There isn't anything he'd want to know," he replies.

"Is he still mad at you for leaving?" I ask.

Peeta shrugs his shoulder.

"A little. That's why he hated you, you know. I think he always knew you would be the reason I walked away," he replies.

I give Peeta a small smile before the kettle boils and Peeta gets up to make the tea. I look back at the card and realise that a return address has been written on the back. I glance up to check Peeta is still making the tea and quickly take out my phone to snap a picture of the address. I manage to stuff my phone back in my pocket by the time Peeta has turned back around.

"This cake is a couple of days old, so I apologise for it being a little stale," Peeta says.

I force a smile as my heart rate slows down again. After these last couple of weeks I feel a little guilty for going behind his back but I still want to put Rye behind bars. He knows where we live and that could still be dangerous for Ava.

I spend half an hour with Peeta before making my excuses and checking in with the diner before he comes over to spend some time with Ava. I duck into my office to check everything is in order for tomorrow's Christmas service and quickly send the photo of Rye's address to Darius. Darius must be in the area though as fifteen minutes later he knocks on my door. He pokes his head around with a grin.

"You are getting pretty good at this spying thing!" he declares.

I sigh and shake my head.

"Then why do I feel so bad about doing it? I shouldn't be sneaking behind his back," I reply.

"You are doing this for Ava. She's safer with Rye behind bars," he says.

I nod my head as I slump back in my chair.

"I know. I've just never been good at lying. He'll be mad at me if he found out that I was spying on him to find out about Rye," I say.

"You're doing what?" a shocked Peeta says as he appears in the doorway of my office.

Darius flashes me a worried look and shame crashes over me as I look at a very hurt and angry Peeta.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

"You've been spying on me?" Peeta asks.

I'm still as the guilt crashes over me. I've never seen him look so shocked and saddened. I've never been good at seeing him in pain and I look away as I struggle to come up with the words to explain.

Darius steps in front of Peeta and puts his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Don't be angry with her. She was just helping me out," Darius says.

"I didn't ask you. I believe Katniss can speak for herself," Peeta replies curtly.

I force myself to look at him and watch as he takes a deep breath and clenches his jaw. Darius freezes as Peeta keeps his stare on him. Darius looks like a prey about to flee from its predator. But Peeta speaks again before Darius can make his move.

"You don't need to be here. My relationship with Katniss and Ava doesn't involve you," he adds.

"Darius is just looking out for me," I reply.

Peeta snaps his head to look at me.

"By forcing you to lie to me," he says.

"It was Prim's idea. I don't trust Rye. It's safer for Ava with him locked up," I say.

"Or you don't trust me with him still out there," Peeta spits.

"I didn't say that…" I reply.

"Your actions tell me otherwise," Peeta says bitterly.

"I haven't done anything that would get you in trouble. It was only ever information on Rye," I reply.

"That's not an excuse for lying to me. You know how much he means to me. Punishing him is the same as punishing me," he says.

"Surely you can see that Rye isn't good for Ava," Darius cuts in.

Peeta spins his head around to him.

"Why are you still here? This isn't your business. We don't need your opinion," Peeta says.

Darius looks at me guiltily but I nod my head to tell him to go. He gives me an apologetic smile before ducking out of the room.

With Darius gone the silence in the room seems deafening. The anger and tension radiates off Peeta and his hands stay clenched at his side. His eyes pin me to the spot and implore me to explain.

"I have been working my ass off trying to be honest with you and show you that I can be trusted. That's what you asked me to do. And all this time you have been sneaking behind my back. You're a hypocrite," he says.

I duck my head in shame.

"I know. But I won't apologise for trying to protect Ava. Even if I didn't do it in the right way," I reply.

"Damn right you didn't. You should have come to me," he says.

"How could I when I knew you would react like this?" I reply.

"I guess we'll never know how I would have reacted," he says.

Peeta then shakes his head angrily and takes a purposeful step towards me. I gasp as he steps right in front of me. I look up into his eyes and my heart clenches at the heated look in them.

"You are the only person that can hurt me in this way," he states.

He holds my stare for what feels like an eternity before stepping away and walking out without looking back.

I slump into my chair and bury my head in my hands once he leaves. The short conversation has left me drained and wishing I had explained myself better. It couldn't have gone much worse.

I have no idea if he will turn up to spend time with Ava in a little over ten minutes time. I won't be able to stand her disappointment if he doesn't come.

I don't achieve anything else as I spend the next ten minutes in my office. Eventually I manage to pull myself off my chair and trudge back to my parents' house.

I put the keys in the lock and tentatively step into the warm house. I survey the hallways for any sign of Ava. But much to my surprise I hear my daughter's laughter coming from the front room. I approach the room cautiously and peek around the door.

Ava's laugh continues to ring out as she dances about in a fairy costume. Peeta grins at her as she stuffs a sparkly wizard hat and cape on him.

"You're the evil wizard, Daddy. I'm going to turn you into a frog!" she exclaims.

My heart lifts in the relief at the sight. I can almost forget everything else if my daughter is happy. Even Dad tries to hide a smile as Ava taps Peeta on the head and makes up nonsense spells.

Ava turns to me with a toothy grin and waves at me with her wand.

"The witches costume is still there for you, Mommy," she says.

I smile kindly at her but am very aware of Peeta avoiding my stare.

"I can't play right now, bug. I've still got presents to wrap," I reply.

Ava pouts a little at first but then shrugs her shoulders. She turns back to my dad.

"You can be the wicked witch instead, Grandpa," she says.

Dad's eyes widen in despair but Ava doesn't notice as she clambers on his lap to plonk the hat on his head. I let out a little laugh as my dad tries to protest before turning to look back at Peeta. He still won't look at me and I only spend a moment longer staring at him before turning to walk out the room.

I meet Mom in the kitchen to help her prepare the food for tomorrow. She notices my bent head and slow movements and immediately wipes her hands on her apron to talk to me.

"What's happened? Everything seemed to be going so well," Mum says.

"Peeta found out I was feeding information about Rye to Darius," I say, resting my hip against the counter.

Mom sighs as she wipes a sweaty strand off her face.

"I can see why that would make him angry. Even if you were doing it for the right reasons," she replies.

"I don't know how to fix it," I say.

Mum smiles sympathetically at me.

"I believe that Peeta has Ava's best interests at heart. Once he's calmed down he'll realise that's why you did it," she says. "Though you might want to give him a gesture to show how much you trust him now."

I smile gratefully at her before stepping and wrapping my arms around her.

"Thanks, Mom," I say.

* * *

I hide out in the kitchen as hilarity can be heard from the other room. I know I need to speak to Peeta again but don't know how long to give him to cool down.

But we bump into each other in the hallway as he comes back from the bathroom. I stumble back and my skin prickles as we knock into each other and places his hands on my arms to steady me. Peeta immediately tenses when he sees me. I gulp as I look up at him.

"I wasn't sure you would come," I say.

Peeta shakes his head in disbelief.

"I'm not going to let Ava down," he says simply, before walking back to her.

* * *

I push aside my guilt for Christmas Day and focus solely on Ava's happiness. The day is really all about her and she squeals with delight when she sees the shiny red bike Santa left her. She spends the whole day making a mess with wrapping paper and playing with the countless toys Peeta gave her. He pops round briefly before dinner to see her and she quickly drags him to play with the toy horse set she got from my parents. We are both cordial to each other as we don't want to spoil the day for Ava but even she picks up on the underlying tension.

"Did you and Daddy have a fight?" she asks me after he has left.

"Why do you ask that?" I ask, reaching out to stroke her hair.

Ava shrugs and turns back to brush her toy pony's hair.

"You didn't play with us," she says simply.

"I had to help Grandma with the turkey," I lie.

Ava clearly doesn't buy my answer but doesn't question further. She finishes brushing the pony's hair and scrambles off to find sparkly hair clips for it. I underestimated how perceptive she is and realise that I need to fix things between Peeta quick to make sure the impact on her is as little as possible.

The next day I leave Ava with my mom and dad so I can go and explain myself to Peeta. I knock on his door and wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans as I wait. Eventually he jerks back the door to greet me. I give him a nervous smile as he stares back at me expressionless.

"We need to talk," I say.

Peeta nods his head before stepping aside to let me in. I take a deep breath as I cross the threshold and follow him through to the kitchen.

"Do you want anything?" he asks, a little curtly.

I shake my head and look him straight in the eye.

"I came to say I'm sorry. I realise that I didn't say that before and I shouldn't have lied to you. Particularly since I had asked you to be honest with me," I state.

Peeta lets out a long sigh and slumps against the kitchen counter.

"I didn't even know you could lie to me. You always sucked at it before," he replies.

A small smile crosses my face.

"Your lying skills improve when you become a parent. From Santa Claus and carrots helping you see in the dark, you really have to keep on top of it," I say.

Peeta lets out a small laugh but then shakes his head.

"I can almost understand why you did it. You're right. I do know Rye is bad for Ava and I don't ever want the two of them to meet. But at the same time, I don't want to see my brother on jail. I still love him," he says.

I nod my head.

"I should have come to you with my concerns about Rye. I was just scared he would lure you back," I reply.

"And that's what hurts the most. You don't trust me to put Ava first. I really thought I was convincing you she was my only priority. She's my whole life, Katniss," he says passionately.

"I do trust you," I reply.

Peeta looks stunned at my quick response. Suddenly I realise the truth in my words. Everything he has done these last few months has shown me that he's changed. He's changed for her. I know he would rather die than put her in danger again. Everything is not going to be plain sailing going forward but I have to start showing him that I trust him too.

"I know you love Ava. And she is falling in love with you too. I need to let you learn how to be her father," I say.

Peeta furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head.

"What are you saying?" he asks.

"I think it's time you had Ava to yourself for a while. If it's okay with her, she can come and spend a night here. Without me watching over your shoulder," I say.

It takes a moment for this news to sink in but slowly a smile spreads across Peeta's face.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

I nod my head.

"I trust you to keep our daughter safe," I reply.

The smile gets bigger and Peeta steps forward to engulf me in a hug. I huff because of the impact and my arms hang uselessly at me side as Peeta pulls me tight. He doesn't let go for a long time and eventually my arms slide around his back to embrace him back. It feels comfortable to be in his arms and the smell of cinnamon and dill wafts off him and tickles my nostrils. I sigh in content as I bury my nose into his shoulder.

"Thank you," Peeta says when he eventually pulls back. "I'll speak to Rye to make sure he stays away. He's not going to ruin this."

I smile back at him and nod my head as he tucks a strand of hand behind my ear. I like that he hasn't released his grip fully and it's almost reluctantly that we let go of each other. Peeta offers me something to drink again but I politely decline. I said all I needed to and want to get back to Ava to break the good news to her.

She is ecstatic when I tell her she can go and stay with Daddy. She bounces off the walls as she shouts all the things she wants to do with him at their sleepover. I laugh when she almost knocks the Christmas tree down and marvel at how far she's come since she first met Peeta. At that time, I could only wish he would make her this happy.

Dad sidles up to me as Ava pulls out her new back pack and starts stuffing it with toys, eager to pack for Daddy's.

"Are you sure about this?" Dad asks.

"Yeah. I am," I reply. "Are you going to try and convince me not to?"

Dad shakes his head.

"No. I trust you. And strangely I am beginning to trust him. I don't think there is a more dedicated father in Seam," he replies.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"That's high praise from you, Dad. Did Santa give you acceptance for Christmas?" I say with a grin.

Dad nudges me in the side.

"I'll still be there with my pitchfork if he screws up," he replies. "But he's good for now."

I give Dad a grateful smile before turning to calm my daughter down. For the first time, we are beginning to feel like a slightly messed up family.

* * *

I phone Darius later that night to talk to him about Rye.

"I'm sorry I put you in that positon with Peeta. It was wrong of me," Darius says.

"I was the one that agreed to it. You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do," I say.

"I know. But I still feel bad. I spoke to Peeta about it too. He cares a lot about you Katniss and not just because of Ava," he replies.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

My eyebrows furrow together and I hold the phone tightly to my ear. I don't know if I like the thought of my two ex-boyfriends talking to each other about me.

"You'll figure it out," Darius says with a light laugh.

I shake my head, confused over his words before sighing and cradling the phone to my ear.

"I can't get you information on Rye anymore. If Peeta and I are going to make things work for Ava we need to be honest with each other," I say.

"I understand. He's really impressed me with Ava. I don't think he could choose Rye over her anymore," Darius replies.

"Thank you. You didn't need to say that," I say.

"It's the truth," Darius says. "But I'm going to have to leave you. I've got a date tonight with a former gymnast. I hear she's very bendy!" he says.

I laugh.

"So definitely an upgrade on me then," I reply.

"Without a doubt. I'll speak to you soon," he says.

I agree and say goodbye shortly after.

* * *

Ava asks me every day if this is the day she is going to stay with Daddy. Her questions are exhausting and part of me is a little sad that she seems so eager to leave me. But I remind myself this isn't about me. She and Peeta deserved time to bond alone.

Three days after my apology, Peeta comes round to pick her up. Ava spent most of the day sitting on the staircase with her bags packed, eager to get going.

"Daddy!" she exclaims as Peeta comes through the door.

She throws herself at him and Peeta lets out a little oof as she collides into his legs. But he smiles broadly as he bends down to scoop her into his arms.

"That's the best welcome I've ever had," he says.

Ava grins broadly as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Are we going to make cakes? I packed my apron. I want to be as good a baker as you!" she says.

"I have ingredients to make chocolate fudge cake. Do you think we should leave some for Mommy?" Peeta asks.

They both turn to look at me and I raise my eyebrow at them. It doesn't take long for them both to have mischievous grins on their faces.

"No! We eat it all!" Ava replies.

Peeta catches my eye and shrugs his shoulder before putting Ava back down on the ground.

"Sorry, Katniss. The decision is out of my hands," he replies with a grin.

I scowl at him and he laughs. He then bends down to help Ava with her coat while my mom comes through carrying the mail.

"There's a card for you," she says, passing me a red envelope.

I frown as I take the card off her. It's a bit late for Christmas cards and I can't think of another reason for someone to send me one. I tear open the top and pull the card out. I freeze when I see the cover of the card. It's a black card with a picture of a wolf dressed up as a sheep. Above the picture are the words _"Beware of the wolf in the sheep's clothing."_

I stare at the front of the card for a long time as I can guess who would send me this. Ava cranes her neck round to look at me and spots the card. She stands on her tiptoes to get a better look and laughs at the picture.

"That wolf looks silly, Mommy," she says.

Peeta frowns when he hears her comment and puts a hand on my waist as he peers over my shoulder to get a proper look. His expression goes stony and his grip gets tighter when he sees it.

"Who sent you that?" he asks.

I slowly open the card to confirm my suspicions. It is simply signed R. Peeta shakes his head has his hand curls protectively around my hip.

"He's unbelievable. He should have never sent you this," he says.

I'm a little surprised by the angry tone in Peeta's voice. He clenches his jaw as he takes the card off me and crumples it up.

"Why did you do that, Daddy?" Ava asks.

"It's not a very nice card. It was sent to make fun of Mommy," he says.

Ava looks up at me, worried and I give her a reassuring smile as I stroke the top of her head.

"It's okay, bug. The card is gone now," I say.

Ava nods her head and I tell her to go and check she didn't leave anything in her room. She nods her head again and slowly climbs up the stairs to her bedroom.

Peeta immediately turns to me with a concerned look and reaches out to cup my cheek so he can look me straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry. My brother has always been impulsive but he shouldn't have tried to hurt you," he says.

Peeta got back in touch with Rye after my revelation. He warned him that the cops knew where he was staying and told him to get as far away from Seam as possible. Darius and the rest of the detectives raided the address I gave them but Rye had already fled. The cops did find a grubby holdall with some crumpled bank notes in the corners. They think it was the bag used to move the money but they still have a frustratingly little to go on. It seems that Rye has taken offence to me helping them.

"Now you know why I was worried about him," I state.

Peeta nods his head.

"I'll speak to him again. I'll let him know I will do something if he pulls something like this again," he says.

"Rye knows you won't turn him into the police," I point out.

"There are other ways to hurt him without sending him to jail," Peeta replies.

I open my mouth to say something but am interrupted by Ava bounding down the stairs.

"I've got everything!" she declares. "Can we go now?"

Peeta and I both turn to her with a grin and Peeta sticks out his hand for her.

"You need to learn to be more patient," he says.

Ava huffs as she takes his hand and I bend down to give her a hug goodbye.

"Have a good time with Daddy. And go to bed when he tells you," I say.

"I will, Mommy," she says as she wraps an arm around me. "I love you."

I smile as I kiss her cheek.

"I love you too, bug," I say.

Ava smiles back at me before I pull back and she looks up at Peeta. They make their way to the door and I stand on the doorstep as I watch them get into the car and disappear around the corner.

* * *

I'm at a bit of a loose end once they are gone and annoy Mom and Dad as I wander around the house looking for something to do.

"Why don't you phone Prim?" Mom suggests. "Rory can look after Jacob for a night and she can come round for a girls' night. Prim gave me some face masks for Christmas that we could use."

"Face masks? That's my cue to leave," Dad says, getting off his chair. "I'll be at the bar if you need me."

Mom and I share a smile as Dad makes a quick exit.

"Great idea, Mom. I'll call her now," I say.

Mom smiles broadly.

"I'll go and see if I can rustle up some cookie dough," she replies.

Mom soon disappears off into the kitchen and I turn to phone Prim. My sister is more than delighted to get out the house and we agree to meet at the General Store to pick up some more supplies for the evening.

Prim almost looks as excited as Ava today when I meet her at the store front.

"I'm so glad that you called. Jacob has had colic this last week and I've barely slept a wink. A night of pampering is exactly what I need," Prim says.

I give her a hug before we walk into the store.

"You look great considering," I say.

Prim scoffs.

"I'm wearing the world's biggest maternity bra and haven't washed my hair in a week but thanks for trying to be nice," she replies.

I laugh.

"There are a lot of things that the baby books don't prepare you for," I say.

"Tell me about it. I get peed on at least three times a day and my tits are so sore that I won't let Rory anywhere near them," Prim says.

"Still no sex drive, huh?" I say as we beginning scanning the aisles.

"We've tried a few times but half way through I just lose my libido and end up just sucking Rory off. I have noticed that his showers take longer in the morning now," Prim replies.

"It will come back. You both probably need some sleep and peace. I can take Jacob for a night for when you feel up for it," I say.

"I'll definitely hold you to that," she says. "But what about you? You haven't had any since Darius."

"It's not exactly easy to meet a man with a diner and a five-year-old to look after," I reply.

"Yeah. But now Peeta's back you have a readymade babysitter! This is your chance to get out there. We should totally sign you up for internet dating tonight!" Prim exclaims.

"No way. Do you know how many weirdos there are online?" I say.

Prim shrugs her shoulders.

"Internet dating is pretty common now. A third of relationships start on there. And Leevy Jenkins just got engaged to a guy she met online," she says.

"I'm still not doing it, Prim. And if I find you've set up a profile for me I will tell Rory that you think of Ryan Gosling when you get yourself off," I say.

"You play dirty, sis," she says. "Fine. No internet dating."

I nod my head in triumph as we begin to fill up our basket with items. Dating has been the last thing on my mind recently. I do miss sex but I've never been one for causal hook-ups and suddenly the thought of building a new relationship makes me feel guilty.

We don't spend too long in the General Store and soon start our walk home. However, as we are walking past the bar, Haymitch is thrown out the door.

"Go home and sleep it off, Haymitch," the bar owner declares.

Haymitch stumbles down the steps and curls up at the bottom. His hands clasp tightly around a silver hip flask and begin to shake as he brings it up to his lips to sip. Prim and I stop to look at him.

"What happened, Haymitch?" I ask.

"I may have hit Thread on the cheek. He laughed at me when I fell off my stool," he replies.

Prim and I share a look and I sigh as I bend down and hook my arm under his.

"You can't stay out here. It's freezing," I say, hauling him up.

"Are you offering to take me home, sweetheart?" he asks with a grin.

I scrunch my nose up as the foul stench of alcohol hits my face.

"You can sober up on our couch. We're having a girls' night and I think pampering is just what you need," I say.

"I'm not letting you paint my nails," Haymitch grumbles.

"That sounds like a challenge," Prim says with a grin.

Haymitch makes some more noises of protest but does let us drag him back to our house.

Mom is a little surprised to see that we have brought Haymitch home but quickly clears a space on the couch for him and pours him a large glass of water. Haymitch slurps the liquid down greedily but quickly splutters and spits it out.

"This isn't vodka," he says in disgust.

"No. It's a lot better for you," Mom replies.

"I don't need to be babied," Haymitch grumbles.

"You know one of these days you are going to get chucked out the bar and someone is going to find you dead in an alleyway the next morning," I say.

"That's the hope," Haymitch replies, tipping his glass of water at me.

"You don't mean that," Prim says.

"Of course I do. It's life's cruel joke that I'm still living while other innocents are buried deep underground," he replies.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for their death, Mitch," Mom says.

The room goes eerily silent and all the women look at the drunken, grieving man sadly.

"Who else is there to blame? I fell asleep when we were on the lake. I wasn't awake to see my daughter slip. I wasn't there to save my wife as she got tangled in the fishing line as she tried to rescue our child. They are dead because I had one too many beers at lunch time," he says.

I duck my head as he speaks. Haymitch's story is well known in Seam. Everyone knows that his wife and daughter died in a fishing accident. It's why the town have put up with him for so long. Everyone knows he drinks to try and forget that dreadful night.

"Your boy understands," Haymitch says, tipping his head at me.

"Peeta?" I ask, surprised.

Haymitch nods his head.

"He has nightmares too. I see my family die in the flames every night and he sees that casino lunatic shoot Ava every night in his sleep. He's the only person in this town that understand how it feels to fail your family," Haymitch says.

"How do you know this?" Prim asks.

"Because I actually talk to him, blondie," Haymitch replies. "He doesn't judge me for my drinking. Or give me pitying looks like you do. I'd almost say we're friends."

I feel bad that I don't know this about Peeta. Basically all our conversations have revolved around Ava and it's only now that I realise that I don't really know the person behind the father he has become for her.

"But Peeta's found a way to cope. He doesn't need to drink to try and forget it," I say.

Haymitch scoffs.

"No. His addiction is something else. Have you asked him what he did in those years away? There's some pretty crazy shit. It's only now he's back in Ava's life that he's managed to keep those demons away," Haymitch replies.

I stare at Haymitch for a long time, my mind whirring with all the things Peeta could have done.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone that has followed/favourited/reviewed the story so far. This is going to be a slow burn for Everlark but now things are better with Ava, their relationship will start to change.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that still supports this story. A few people are worried about Rye and his presence will continued to be felt in the rest of the story. You'll just have to wait and see if he turns up to spoil things for this little family.**

* * *

 _Chapter 7_

I knock on Peeta's door the next day and nervously tap my foot as I wait. I couldn't get Haymitch's words out of my head last night and have run through various different scenarios, each one getting worse than the last.

I hear some thumping and loud shushing behind the door and eventually a high-pitched giggle that could only come from my daughter. I smile, glad she had a good time, and not long after Peeta yanks the door back with an innocent looking grin.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. But I seem to have lost Ava," he says.

I raise my eyebrow at as I step inside. Peeta can't stop grinning and realise that I am now involved in some game they have made.

"Oh. That's a shame. Where could she be?" I say, playing along.

Peeta leads me through to the living room and I quickly survey the room for any sign of Ava. Eventually my eye lands on a pile of blankets spread out carelessly on the couch. I see the tops of the blankets moving up and down as my daughter struggles to stay still.

"I don't know where she could be. I searched everywhere for her! Maybe she's invisible," Peeta exclaims.

The two of us share a grin and a giggle escapes from underneath the blankets. I make a big show of trying to look for her by ducking to look under tables and flinging back the drapes.

"She's disappeared, Peeta. Maybe she ran off to join the circus," I say.

There is another giggle from the blankets and I smile as I make my way round to the couch.

"I guess we'll just have to sit on the couch and hope she comes back," I say.

I then slowly lower myself down on to the couch, as if I am about to sit on Ava, and she suddenly pops her head up from underneath the blankets.

"I'm here, Mommy! You were about to sit on me," she exclaims.

I fake relief by putting my hand on my chest and sitting down beside her.

"Thank goodness! I was scared I wouldn't get another Ava cuddle," I say.

Ava grins broadly at me and throws her arms around me.

"Lots of cuddles, Mommy," she says. "Did you really not know I was under the blankets?"

Peeta and I share a grin before I turn back to Ava. I gently stroke a piece of hair off her face.

"Not a clue. You are the best at hide and seek," I reply.

Ava grins proudly and then I ask her what she got up to with Peeta last night. She speaks at a hundred miles a minute, and although it is hard to keep up, there is no doubt that she had one of her best times.

Eventually her words run out and Peeta encourages her to go and pack her things. Ava pouts a little and begins to whine but one pointed look from Peeta is enough for her to duck her head and run to the guest bedroom.

The room is silent for a moment after she is gone. Peeta leans against the door frame while I smile slightly awkwardly up at him from the couch.

"It sounds like you had a really good time last night," I say.

Peeta grins and nods his head.

"We had a lot of fun but she has a lot of energy. I'm exhausted!" he exclaims.

I laugh.

"Now you are a true parent," I reply.

We smile at each other and then the room goes silent again. We can just make out Ava chattering in the other room. It sounds like she has got distracted from packing and is playing with her ponies. I should probably go and tell her to hurry up but this gives me time to talk to Peeta. Haymitch's words float into my head again.

"If I asked what you did after you left, would you tell me?" I ask.

Peeta looks a bit taken aback by my question but picks himself off the doorframe to come and sit down beside me.

"I would tell you anything," he says.

"Even if it was bad?" I ask.

"Not much of it was good," Peeta replies.

I nod my head and bite my lip as I contemplate where to start.

"What makes you want to know now?" Peeta asks.

"I spoke to Haymitch last night. He told me about your nightmares. And that you did some crazy stuff to distract yourself from what happened to Ava," I say.

Peeta doesn't look at me as he nods his head and his demeanour grows solemn.

"I'm not proud of it but we've already talked about how I was addicted to the adrenaline rush that came with a job. I quickly learnt that was the easiest way to forget the danger I put Ava in. I threw myself into planning every job and put myself in some dangerous situations," he says.

I nod my head as I brace myself for his revelations.

"Start with the worst thing that you did. Work your way back," I say.

Peeta turns to look at me and the shame shines out of his eyes.

"I once dumped a body in a lake," he states.

I furrow my eyebrows and shake my head.

"But I thought you never kill anyone," I say.

"I didn't. I got into a bit of trouble with a big-time poker player and he needed a favour. I can still feel the weight of the dead man in my hands. The unnerving feeling of a body that doesn't bend. It had been left a few days and it had a strange smell, almost like rotting meat but mixed with a few drops of cheap perfume," he says.

He turns away from me and ducks his head again.

"I didn't ask any questions about who he was. I didn't want to know and just went out to drink myself into oblivion. A couple days later there was a missing person report on the news about a cop who took care of his elderly mother. I always wondered if he was the guy I so carelessly dumped,"

I surprise myself by reaching out to take his hand. Peeta startles at my touch and looks up at me confused. I squeeze his hand and give him a sad smile.

"You're showing remorse now. That shows you're not that person anymore," I say.

Peeta squeezes my hand back and gives me a grateful smile. We sit in peaceful silence for a long time before Peeta takes a deep breath and tells me the rest of the story.

He tells me a story of smuggling cash up his asshole and impersonating members of the police. There are stories of him hiding in sewers to escape crazy casino owners and taking younger siblings hostage to get what they wanted. If it had been written in a book I wouldn't have believed it.

The story weighs heavy on Peeta at the start. His shoulders hunch forward and he can barely look at me but something changes as he goes on. The remorse and regret is clear on his face but admitting it out loud seems to unburden him. His shoulders begin to straighten and he looks at me with more hope.

"So now you know everything about me. Every sordid detail," he finishes.

We sit closer together and my hand still tightly grasps his. I suddenly realise that I have been running my thumb back and forth the top of his hand for the last several minutes. I know that everything he has told me should scare me but for some reason it has the opposite effect. It endears me more to him because I realise just how far he's come since he's come back.

"Thank you for telling me," I say.

Peeta gives me a small smile and my thumb continues to stroke his hand. We're both stuck staring at each other and our heads have gravitated closer together. Peeta sighs as he leans his forehead against mine and I reach out to stroke some of his hair back. When our eyes meet again I see something in Peeta's eyes that I haven't seen in a long time. I can't help but gasp at the sight of it.

"Finished!" Ava declares as she jumps into the room.

Peeta and I spring back and I scramble to get away from him. I rush over to Ava and run my hands over her to check everything is in place.

"Your buttons are done up wrong," I say.

My hands move down to quickly undo and redo her buttons. My cheeks are red and my hands fumble a bit on the tiny buttons but I manage to do them and stand up straight again.

"Say goodbye to your daddy. You'll see him in a couple of days," I say.

I avoid Peeta's stare as he comes over and gives Ava a big hug.

"I had the best time, Daddy," she says.

Peeta smiles but I am already turned to face the door. Ava gives him another hug before slipping her hand in mine and I drag her out of the door.

I do a pretty good job over the next twenty-four hours to keep my thoughts of Peeta to a minimum. I don't even acknowledge the strange moment we had after he told me everything. I stopped loving him a long time ago and it will do no good to bring up old feelings.

However, the following day Peeta becomes the centre of the town's gossip.

"Did you see the news? There has been another bank robbery in Hob," Delly says while in the diner.

"They are lucky no one got killed this time. Though they said the security guard will be lucky if he walks again," Rooba replies.

Delly shakes her head as she stirs the sugar into her coffee. I eye them carefully as I wipe down the counter top.

"Hob is only forty minutes away. It would be easy for Peeta to sneak out and help his brother," Delly adds.

"Don't you ladies have anything better to do than gossip about innocent young men?" Haymitch pipes up.

Delly snaps her attention to him and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Peeta is far from innocent," Delly scoffs. "Just because he dressed up as Santa doesn't mean he's any less a criminal."

I throw down my rag on the counter and march over to Delly. Her eyes widen as I approach and she cowers back slightly.

"Yes, Peeta has broken the law. Many times. But you didn't seem to mind when it kept crime away from this town. It's only now, now that he's trying to start over, meaning he can't protect us in the same way that you bad mouth him," I say angrily.

"A leopard can't change his spots overnight. How can you really know he wasn't there yesterday? It says there were two men. Rye didn't work alone," Delly says.

"Because he was with me and Ava yesterday when the bank robbery happened. So, unless he can be in two places at once, I'm pretty sure he wasn't involved. Why don't you start spreading that bit of gossip around? And better still, why don't you start a rumour that Peeta and I are fucking again. You never care if you get your facts right any way and that's a much juicier story," I spit.

Delly stares at me with wide eyes. I hold her stare for a long moment but spy Haymitch grinning at the side. He raises his mug of Irish coffee and tips it towards me.

"Good to see that fire again, sweetheart," he says. He then pushes the swear jar towards me. "But that's a dollar for the swear jar."

We share a smile as I drop the note into the jar.

* * *

I don't see Peeta until the next day. Ava has been desperate to try out her new bike but the roads have been too icy so far. However, the frost is clearing and I can't deny her any longer. Peeta pulls up in front of my parents' house on his motorbike to help with our very enthusiastic daughter.

Ava runs up to him to give a hug. The straps of her ladybird helmet dangle down by the sides of her face and it almost topples off her head as she squeezes him tight.

"Nobody in my class can ride without training wheels. I need to beat Toby!" she declares.

Peeta chuckles as he gently clips the straps of her helmet under her chin.

"I'm not going to leave until you can ride all by yourself," he replies.

Ava grins broadly at him and rushes over to her bike that leans against the wall. Peeta looks up at me with a grin.

"She definitely gets her competitiveness from you. I still remember the time you smashed a vase after losing to Gale at monoloply" he says.

"Gale cheated that day. I'm positive he was sneaking extra money when he thought none of us were looking ," I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Peeta grins at me again and shakes his head. He then walks over to me and bends to whisper in my ear.

"Don't get defensive about it. It used to really turn me on," he says.

I jerk my head round to look at him but he just gives me a cheeky smile and wink before stepping away. I frown as he goes over to Ava. His behaviour these last few days has been verging on flirty. I'm not sure if I'm annoyed by it or eager for more.

The bike wobbles a bit as Ava straddles it and Peeta sticks out his hand to steady her.

"Are you sitting properly on the seat?" he asks.

"Yes, Daddy. Can we hurry up?" Ava replies.

"Okay. I'll keep holding the bike while you put your feet in the pedals. Don't let go of the handlebars," Peeta instructs.

Ava nods and her tongue pokes out as she concentrates on Peeta's instructions. Peeta keeps a tight grip on the saddle and waits patiently for her to get into position. Eventually Ava settles and turns around to look at him impatiently.

"I'm ready, Daddy. Can we go?" she asks.

Peeta nods his head.

"I'm going to keep hold of the saddle for now. But start peddling," he says.

Ava nods her head eagerly and bends forward to start rotating the pedals. It doesn't take long for the bike to start moving and Peeta diligently follows behind her, keeping a tight grip on the saddle. I shout out words of encouragement as the two of them ride up and down the street. Each time Ava gets a bit steadier and her confidence grows.

"Mommy, can you tell Daddy to let me go?" she says after another run.

Peeta lets go of the bike and folds his arms across his chest as he looks at me.

"What do you think, Katniss? Do you think Ava is ready to ride by herself?" he asks with a smile.

I pretend to think long and hard about it.

"I think Ava's getting pretty good. I would let her try," I say.

Ava bounces up and down on the saddle and then turns around to face Peeta.

"I'm ready, Daddy! I can do it myself!" she says confidently.

Peeta grins at her and nods his head.

"Okay. I'll hold onto you to start with. But then I'll let go. I promise," he says.

Ava nods her head eagerly and Peeta bends down to grip the bike again. Ava carefully puts her feet on the pedals and turns back to Peeta.

"Ready!" she declares.

Peeta grins at her with encouragement and soon sets off. I hold my breath as the bike begins to move and Peeta follows behind. When he's sure Ava has her balance, he lets go and stands back to marvel at our daughter. I suck in a breath as she pushes the bike forward for the first time by herself. There is a slight wobble and I get into position to run to her if she falls. But she doesn't. She straightens up and rides forward.

"Yes, Ava! You're doing it all yourself! You're doing amazing!" Peeta shouts.

"You're doing great, bug! Keep going!" I encourage.

Ava shrieks with delight.

"I'm doing it! I'm riding by myself!" she exclaims.

Peeta and I turn to each other with a brief but big grin and then turn back to continue to shout her on. As she approaches the end of the street, Peeta tells her to slow down and she is able to stop herself. Both Peeta and I rush over to her and squeeze her in a massive three person hug.

"I did it! I rode all by myself!" she squeals.

"You were awesome, bug. I'm so proud of you," I reply.

"I think we need to make bike shaped cookies to celebrate," Peeta adds.

Ava grins up at us and wriggles out of our grip.

"I want to do it again," she says, already turning to look back at the road.

Peeta and I chuckle and I stand back as Peeta helps her get started again. Moments later she is off cycling by herself. Peeta and I continue to shout our praises and marvel at how well she is doing.

She doesn't seem to tire riding up and down the street and Peeta and I lean against the wall as we watch her in delight.

"Seeing her achieve things may be the best feeling in the world," Peeta says with a proud smile.

"Better than the adrenaline rush of robbing a bank?" I ask with a grin.

Peeta laughs and blows on his cold hands.

"Maybe," he says. "I heard you defended me yesterday in the diner. You didn't have to do that."

I shrug my shoulder.

"This town has always been bad for gossip. It's not fair of them to blame you for something you are no longer involved in. Plus, I don't want things like that getting back to Ava," I reply.

"Thanks. But we can't keep my past from her forever. We will have to tell her one day," he says.

I nod my head solemnly. Ava will only have more questions about Peeta as she grows up and it won't be easy for her to hear some of things he did. Particularly because she is already beginning to idolise him. But I always knew having him back wouldn't be easy.

"Yes," I say. "But not today."

"Not today," Peeta agrees.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets while I rub my gloved hands together. We're silent as we contemplate the future but then Peeta turns to me with a grin.

"Oh and I hear we're sleeping together again? That was a nice surprise," he says.

I roll my eyes and thump him on the arm.

"I said that to prove a point. This town doesn't care if the gossip is true. They just love a good story," I reply.

"Cecilia Cotton looked devastated at the thought. I think she may have a crush on me," Peeta says, stroking his chin.

"She's fifteen. Might be just breaking the law a little bit," I say.

Peeta laughs.

"Thankfully I'm not into that shit. Though I have to commend her for her excellent choice in first crush," he replies.

"How do you know you were her first?" I say with a grin.

Peeta smiles back at me but we're are interrupted by a short scream and crash. Both of us snap our heads towards Ava and my heart starts racing. Ava lies on the ground, with the bike on top of her and she whimpers underneath it.

We both rush over to her and Peeta quickly picks the bike off her while I bend down and help her to sit up.

"What hurts, sweetie?" I ask urgently.

I run my hands over her but there seems to be no obvious cuts and bruises.

"My hand," Ava sniffles.

Peeta crouches down beside us and reaches out to stroke away some of her tears. Ava sticks out her hand and I gently cradle it in my own.

"It's okay, honey. We're here for you now," Peeta says.

Ava sniffles loudly as I examine her hand.

"Can you move it, sweetie?" I ask.

Ava tries but screams as she tries to bend her wrist back.

"It really hurts, Mommy," she whimpers.

She rests her head against my shoulder and Peeta and I share a concerned look.

"We'll take you to the hospital. They'll make it better," Peeta says.

Ava nods her head and sniffs loudly as I let Peeta scoop her up in his arms. She snuggles into his chest and I quickly dash inside to get the keys to my car.

I zoom along the streets of Seam until I get to the emergency department just outside of town. Peeta rushes inside with Ava while I park the car and then we have to wait for a while to be seen. Peeta distracts Ava with silly stories about trolls and unicorns and I keep Ava on my lap, stroking her hair and making sure nothing happens to injure the wrist further. Eventually we are seen and the doctor suggests she has an x-ray. Peeta paces up and down the waiting room while they take her away.

"I shouldn't have taken my eye off her. This is my fault," he says.

I shake my head as I get up and rub soothing circles on his back.

"Kids fall over all the time. We couldn't have stopped it. It's part of growing up," I say.

"But what if she's broken her wrist? I'm a terrible parent," he replies.

He ducks his head and then looks pained towards the x-ray room.

"Then Ava will have a bright pink cast that she can show off at school on Monday. That thought is probably exciting her right now. She will be fine," I say.

Peeta looks back at me and nods his head. I give him a reassuring smile before pulling him in for a hug. He grips me tightly and I don't know if he will ever let go.

He does when the doctor comes back and takes us back to Ava. I rush to her side and place a kiss on top of her head. She looks a lot happier and the tears have long since stopped. Peeta stands right in front of the doctor, his arms crossed and wanting answers.

"The good news is that it isn't broken. Just a sprain," the doctor says with a smile.

Peeta lets out an obvious sigh of relief and lets his arms hang by his side.

"What can you do to help it?" Peeta asks.

"Rest the wrist for the next couple of days. We'll give Ava a bandage to compress it but the wrist should be fine within a week," he replies.

Peeta thanks the doctor but Ava frowns.

"So I don't get a cast?" she asks.

"Not today," the doctor replies kindly.

Ava huffs and leans furthers back into the pillows.

"I wanted one for all my friends to write on," she says.

I catch Peeta's eye and we grin. Sometimes our daughter is very predictable.

We leave the hospital and Ava uses all our guilt to convince us to get a MacDonald's and milkshake. Even back at home she makes us run around for her and forces us to read countless stories. Eventually she lets out a big yawn and snuggles back into her pillows, with Peeta and I either side of her. The way Peeta's arm is wrapped around her means that his thumb skims the area of my skin where my shirt has ridden up.

"I think it's time you went to sleep, bug," I say, stroking her hair.

She yawns again and her eyes struggle to stay open.

"Can you sing to me, Mommy. It helps me get to sleep," she says.

"Of course," I say, bending down to place a kiss on top of her head.

Peeta grins across at me and then I fix my eyes on our daughter. I open my mouth to sing softly.

 _Deep in the meadow_

 _Under the willow_

Ava's eyes begin to flutter almost immediately and she is asleep before the end of the second verse. But I still sing the whole song and smile fondly at her after I've finished. I bend down to give her one last kiss and Peeta does the same, making sure that her toy goat is secure in her arms. We both get up and tiptoe out the room.

Once out in the hallway, Peeta turns to me with a look of awe.

"You're still an amazing singer," he says to me with a soft smile.

I smile back at him as I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't really get much opportunity now. Just singing lullabies to Ava," I say.

"That seems a shame. You used to rock the karaoke at the bar," he says with a grin.

"You weren't that bad either. I still remember how you got the whole bar singing _Sex on Fire_ with you," I reply.

Peeta laughs and then scratches the back of his neck.

"Oh God. I had forgotten about that night. Though if I remember correctly, you got very drunk and gave me a strip tease in the back of my car. One of the best nights of my life," he says with a grin.

I thump him on the arm but he catches my hand as I pull it away and cradles it in his own. Suddenly all the air seems to be sucked out of me and I'm stuck staring into his piercing blue eyes. They hold me there and become soft yet serious. His thumb begins to run across my knuckles.

"I didn't think I was still in love with you until I came back," he states.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

The diner is just beginning to die down after the lunch time rush and I take the time to help the waitress tidy tables and restock menus. Madge sits at the counter, her belly really starting to swell, as the twins keep themselves occupied with some Lego. Darius sits beside Haymitch as the two of them debate the pros and cons of American whiskey over Scottish stuff.

I wipe a sweaty strand of hair off my face as I go over to them.

"Another slow day in the office, Darius? You've sat here for the last two hours," I say.

"Everything is still crazy at Hob after the bank robbery last month but I've fallen out of favour since I've stopped passing information on about Rye," he replies.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get into trouble at work," I say.

Darius shrugs his shoulders.

"I was only ever assisting any way. I don't think I'm cut out for major crime. I'm quite happy stopping the bar fights and tackling vandalism in Seam," he says.

Madge nods her head as she rubs her belly.

"It's a miracle that nothing like that has happened here. I can't imagine what it's like fearing for your life every time you go to the bank," she says.

"It's this new duo that are causing the most problems. Cato and Marvel. They call themselves The Careers and it looks like they want total dominance. The police have kept quiet about the amount of known drug dealers and pimps that have been found dead because of those two. But they really want to get to Rye and topple his monopoly on bank crime," Darius replies.

Madge shoots me a concerned look.

"Sounds like Peeta got out at the right time. And if Rye has any sense he should have fled out of state," she says.

I shake my head.

"Rye's too proud for that. He's already lost his brother. He's not going to lose his empire too," I reply.

Madge nods her head and Haymitch raises his glass in my direction.

"I need a refill, sweetheart," he shouts. "And this conversation is killing my buzz. Even talking about her bump is better than this depressing shit."

We all grin and Madge's reaches up to lovingly stroke the bump.

"I didn't know you cared, Haymitch. How sweet of you to ask. We're having another boy. I've told Gale that we are getting a female cat so I don't feel so outnumbered," she says.

"Jesus. Isn't your house enough of a zoo already?" Haymitch replies.

"Do I have your permission to hit him?" Darius asks Madge.

"Be my guest," Madge says, offering a hand in Haymitch's direction.

Darius and I both grin before he turns and punches Haymitch on the arm. Haymitch lets out of a yelp of pain and glares at Darius as he rubs the sore spot.

"I could sue you for assault," he grumbles.

"No, you won't. Because if I lose my job there will be no one to turn a blind eye when you start another fight in the bar," Darius replies with a grin.

Haymitch grumbles again and turns back to his liqueur laced coffee. I share a grin with Darius before turning back to ask Madge more about her pregnancy. She starts telling us about her argument with Gale over baby names and Darius and I laugh over some of the more unusual suggestions.

"I mean, Thor? Really? Our baby is not a Norse God but Gale seems to think it makes our son sound strong. We might as well call the baby Hulk if that's what he wants!" Madge exclaims.

I don't try to stifle my laugh and Madge continues to rant about Gale vetoing her suggestions but I stop listening when I hear the chime over the door. My eyes follow in the direction of the noise and my smile widens when I see Peeta enter.

He smiles brightly at me too and carries a large cardboard box in his hands. I abandon the rag I was using to wipe the counter and take a few steps to greet him. He takes a seat in front of me and places the box down.

"I brought some leftovers from the bakery. Joel won't eat them as he's trying to lose weight," Peeta says.

He opens the lid of the box and I lick my lips at the array of colourful cupcakes.

"You know me so well," I reply. "And I don't think Joel's diet is going too well. He's in here at least four times a week eating food covered in grease."

"I think his wife's cooking may be worse than yours. He brings the leftovers into the bakery and most of the time it is a congealed lump," Peeta laughs.

I laugh too and them Peeta picks up a cupcake with yellow frosting and nuts sprinkled on top.

"You should try the banana nut ones. I just changed the recipe and I think they are the best I have ever made," he says.

He then lifts the cupcake towards me and I lean forward to take a bite out of it. I groan instantly as the perfect mixture of softness and crunchiness pass my lips. Peeta keeps a hold of the cupcake as I continue to take bites. His eyes linger on my lips as they get closer to his fingers and I stick my tongue out to lick the remainder of the cake off his fingers. The smile on his face disappears and he stares at me so intently that my heart begins to thump louder.

I slowly pull back and slide my tongue along my bottom lip to remove the last of the frosting before pinning my eyes on Peeta.

"That may be my new favourite," I reply.

Peeta gives me a sexy smile as he leans forward and rests his elbows against the counter. His eyes continue to stare at my lips.

"I'm seriously considering hiring you as my official cake taster," he says.

"I couldn't take that job. My pants are already getting a bit tight as it is," I reply.

Peeta smiles and shakes his head.

"It wouldn't matter how much weight you put on. It couldn't hide the sparkle in your eyes or the beauty of your smile," he says.

I blush a little but give him a soft smile. His blue eyes lock onto mine and I couldn't look away from him even if I wanted to.

He's been a lot freer with his compliments since he admitted he was still in love with me. At first I wanted to discourage them, unsure of my own feelings, but I find it harder and harder to do so now. Not when they make me smile.

Eventually Peeta coughs and picks his elbows off the counter

"I can't stay. I've got to stop Joel from licking the bowl. I'll see you later?" he asks.

I smile and nod my head.

"I'll speak to you after work," I reply.

Peeta smiles at me again and then picks up my hand to place a soft kiss on the back of it. My skin tingles were his lips briefly touch my skin and I watch him leave through the window until he is out of sight. I sigh once he is gone and reluctantly turn back to re-start my cleaning duties. However, when I turn around I have three very intrigued pairs of eyes on me.

"Excuse me, but when did that start happening again?" Madge asks.

"What?" I reply, feigning ignorance.

Madge rolls her eyes at me.

"The flirting. With Peeta. I thought that was dead and buried?" she says.

"I wasn't flirting with him," I say defensively.

Darius and Haymitch both snort and Madge looks at me in disbelief.

"I may be drunk most of the time, sweetheart, but even I can see the gooey eyes the two of you give each other nowadays," Haymitch says.

Madge nods her head in agreement.

"And you totally blanked me the moment he came in. It's like no one else existed in your world," she adds.

"You are making me sound like a school girl with a crush," I say, ducking my head.

"You are being a little high schoolish. At least he's admitted that he's in love with you," Darius says.

Madge's eyes widen and she turns to Darius in surprise.

"How do you know that?" I ask him.

I haven't talked to anyone about Peeta's feelings since he told me. I haven't even been able to talk to him about them. After he told me, I freaked out a little bit and made an excuse about being really tired and went to bed without saying anything more to him. He's not brought it up since but it's been obvious with the things he's said and done since that his feelings are real.

"Peeta and I are kind of friends now. We keep Haymitch company in the bar on the nights he's not with you and Ava," Darius replies.

I shake my head. I didn't know this and find it funny that my two exes are now apparently best buddies. I bet they have loads of fun talking about me in the bar.

"I have to applaud his patience. He talks about not wanting to rush you and giving you all the time you need. He's even admitted that if you never feel the same way again it wouldn't change anything. A huge part of him will always be in love with you," Darius adds.

"I'm not sure what I feel yet," I admit.

All three friends nod in understanding.

"I fell out of love with him a long time ago. I grew bitter towards him easily and I forgot the good in him. But now he's back I'm beginning to remember things. The little things that made me fall in love with him the first time," I say.

"This is where I should be a good friend and warn you to be careful with him. His past could come back at any point," Madge says. "But I think you are aware of that and being cautious as a result."

I nod my head.

"I don't want to rush anything. There's still more trust that needs to be built and I have Ava to think about. I can't do anything that will hurt her," I reply.

They all nod their heads and there is a moment of silence. Eventually Haymitch pipes up.

"Just don't leave it too long. Life is short and you never know what's around the corner," he says.

I smile at him sadly as he takes a big slurp of his coffee. Love has always been complicated.

* * *

Peeta comes over that night for dinner with Ava and I feel myself being drawn closer to him. I remember being scared of him stealing all of Ava's affections but he has slotted so naturally into our family dynamic. He even convinces my dad to join in with the finger painting we set up for Ava. Everyone gets covered in paint and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Every few minutes my eyes wander to Peeta and I always find him grinning back at me.

He lingers on the doorstep once we've put Ava to bed and I'm in no rush to let him go.

"How may showers do you think it will take to get all this paint out of my hair?" he asks with a grin.

I laugh and reach out to tug on a particularly green strand.

"I don't know. I think you carry off a head full of green," I reply.

"I'd love to hear the rumours around town if I did dye it all green!" he says.

I laugh and Peeta rests his weight against the doorframe.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulder.

"I don't know. Ava's got a birthday party and sleepover so I will probably look over the accounts for the diner," I reply.

Peeta sighs and shakes his head. He picks himself off the doorframe and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You can't spend your one free Saturday, without Ava and the diner, doing accounts," he says.

"And what would you suggest I do instead then?" I say, tilting my head to the side.

Peeta gives me a broad grin.

"Doing all the things you can't do when you have to look after Ava," he replies.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I mean drinking in the bar at three o'clock in the afternoon and getting up to sing karaoke in front of everyone in town. When was the last time you went hiking? It used to be almost impossible to get you out of the woods," he says passionately.

"I'm a mom now. There is always a list of a hundred other things to do," I reply.

"They can all wait a day. Do you trust me to let you have a good time?" he asks.

I spend a long time looking at him, contemplating his offer. I'm not even sure I can remember how to do all the things he's suggesting but the longer I look at him, the more excitement I see in his eyes. Slowly a smile spreads across my face.

"Yes," I reply.

* * *

The next day I drop Ava off at her party and then Peeta collects me on his motorbike. He wears a tight fitting white t-shirt with a well-worn brown leather jacket slung over the top. He skids to a stop in front of me and gives me a boyish grin. He hops off it and then hands me a single red rose.

"It's always been a dream of mine to pick up a pretty girl on a motorbike," he says.

I take the rose off him and smile as I bring it up to my nose to smell.

"This feels like the start of a Nicholas Sparks movie," I reply.

Peeta grins at me as he rests an elbow against the handle bars of the bike.

"But I know you don't want this to be a date. This is two friends hanging out," he says.

"Who said we were even friends?" I say, quirking my eyebrow.

Peeta laughs and I go back inside to place down the rose. I pull my jacket around my shoulders and Peeta offers me a sparkly pink bike helmet. I raise my eyebrows in question at him.

"Sorry about the helmet. It came with the bike. Apparently, it was the only way to get Madge on the back of it," he says.

I laugh as I take the helmet off him and secure it under my chin. I remember Madge complaining how helmets messed up her hair when Gale rode her places. The sparkly helmet was the compromise they both made.

Peeta moves to straddle the bike again and I sling my leg over the back. My arms seek out his middle and wrap tightly around him. I slot naturally around him and savour the heat that radiates from his body. Peeta gives me one last cheeky grin as he starts the engine.

"You ready?" he asks.

I nod my head.

"Always," I reply.

Peeta smiles as he turns back to face the road and we soon zoom off into the distance.

We travel to a trail about an hour outside Seam. It is a relatively easy hike, with only a slight incline, but the abandoned flooded quarry at the end is surprisingly beautiful and the best place to spot mockingjays at this time of year.

Peeta parks the bike at the start of the trail and changes out of his leather jacket and into a more appropriate hiking jacket. The first signs of spring are just beginning to peek through. The snow and frost is disappearing from the mountains and colourful crocuses and daffodils threaten to pop up from the soil. The sun is out but there is still a little chill in the air and the air is windless, making the afternoon crisp.

I pull out some sandwiches from my backpack and Peeta and I munch on them quietly as we rest on some rocks. I survey the trees around me and inhale deeply the sweet scent of pine. Peeta and I used to come out here all the time before Ava was born. The best days were when we stumbled across long forgotten paths and ended up somewhere completely unexpected. We once found a waterfall with crystal clear waters. We spent all afternoon chasing each other in the water and then made love in a cave behind the waterfall as the water splashed around us. That seems another lifetime ago now.

Peeta notices my contemplation and tilts his head to the side.

"You miss coming out here?" he asks.

I sigh as I finish my bite of sandwich.

"I miss the person I was when I came out here. Back then I was adventurous and fearless. Now I'm just a mother," I reply.

"That's not true. There is more to you than that," Peeta says.

"No, there isn't. I haven't done one thing for myself since Ava was born. My weekend plans are always to do with keeping her occupied. My life has been taking her to birthday parties and shuttling her from swimming and dance lessons," I reply.

Peeta smiles at me sympathetically.

"Don't get me wrong. I love Ava more than anything and spending time with her is my new favourite hobby but it's nice to have a break every once on a while," I add.

Peeta smiles broadly at me and nods his head. He scrunches up the cellophane left from the sandwich and chucks it in the trash before walking towards me and offering me his hand.

"Let's make a pact. Let's pretend we aren't parents for an afternoon. The first person to bring up Ava has to buy the other a drink," he says.

I stare at his hand for a moment and slowly a smile spreads across my face. Eventually I reach forward and shake his hand firmly.

"You've got yourself a deal," I say.

* * *

We set off not long after and Peeta starts the conservation off with a story he swears is true about being chased in the woods by a bear once with Rye. I've always loved the way Peeta tells stories. He is so animated and uses hand gestures to emphasise his point and it doesn't take long for him to have me clutching my sides with laughter. His eyes shine brightly when he hears my laugh and a warmth begins to spread across my chest.

When we reach the quarry, I am only slightly out of breath and Peeta raises his hands as if to soak it all in.

"Hello! We made it back!" he shouts.

His words bounce off the sides of the quarry and echo around us. I laugh as I take a seat in the long grasses by the side of the man-made lake. Birds swoop and dive above the water's surface and mockingjay song can be heard in the distance. Peeta continues to shout into the quarry and I shake my head.

"You are acting like a teenager," I say.

Peeta stops shouting and flashes me a grin.

"Just trying to recapture my youth," he says.

He then comes and takes a seat beside me. I pull out a water bottle and offer him some. He takes it with a grateful smile.

"Though my joints didn't crack that much back then," he says.

"You do turn thirty next month," I laugh.

We share a grin and then turn out to look at the peaceful water.

"Do you remember the first time we came here?" I ask.

Peeta turns back to me with a grin.

"You mean the time we came with Gale and Madge and Gale got his leg stuck in a rabbit hole," he says.

I nod my head as I smile at the memory.

"Do you remember how much Madge was panicking that he'd be stuck forever?" I say.

"I tried to get her to take deep breaths but that just made it worse. I was very tempted to just knock her out. I'm surprised she didn't scare off every animal in a twenty-mile radius," he replies.

"Once he was freed was the closest thing I've seen to a free sex show," I add. "I've never seen clothes come off so fast."

Peeta grins and leans in closer to me.

"I don't know. Your clothes came off pretty quick that time we went berry picking," he whispers.

I thump him.

"Your clothes were off quicker than mine that time," I reply.

Peeta laughs as he pulls away and runs his hand through his hair.

"We did do it outside a lot, didn't we?" he says. "I can see the rock in the water over there that we fucked against when we came swimming here."

"And there was that time in the meadow. Though you came out in a rash afterwards," I reply.

Peeta laughs and shakes his head.

"I still remember the look on the doctor's face when I told him how I got that," he says.

We share a grin and familiar feelings of lust begin to swirl around my stomach. Sex was never a problem when we were together. We were young and eager to experiment but this is the first time since he's got back that I've wanted him in that way.

My fingers itch to reach out and skim the firm muscles of his abdomen and my lips long to kiss that spot on his neck I know makes him moan.

But I don't make a move.

A fuck in the woods is the last thing either of need at this moment. Though the lust is just another hint that my feelings for him are returning.

We stare at each other for a long moment but eventually Peeta sighs and looks back at the water.

"I guess we leave certain stories out when we bring Ava here when she's old enough," he says.

A grin spreads across my face. Peeta turns to me with a quizzical look.

"You owe me a drink. You mentioned Ava," I say.

Peeta laughs and hangs his head back.

"A whiskey and coke still your drink of choice?" he asks.

I laugh and nod my head and let myself enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

We stroll leisurely back to Peeta's motorbike and he drives us straight to the bar so I can collect my victory drink. It feels strange to enter the bar in daylight hours but I enjoy having a few drinks without having to worry about looking after a five-year old when I get home.

Haymitch is of course in the bar as well and we challenge him and Darius to game of pool. Annoyingly Haymitch is surprisingly good, even with his shaky hands, and completely destroys Peeta and me. But I get my own back on him when I force him to sing _Sweet Carolin_ e at the karaoke.

Peeta and I stay close to each other in the bar. His hand occasionally touches the small of my back as we walk back from the bar and he gets me to dance while we do a duet up onstage. I don't remember the last time I laughed this much and I find myself always looking back at him, just to see his smile and feel that warmth in my heart again.

Part of me feels guilty for enjoying myself so much without Ava but then I remember she's probably having just as much fun without me. And she probably hasn't given me a second thought. There will be plenty time for us to play together tomorrow.

Peeta and I stay until nearly closing in the bar. The bar is almost empty. A couple of regulars finish their beers and Haymitch snores loudly at the bar. Darius gets off his bar stool to haul Haymitch up onto his feet. He slings Haymitch's arm around his shoulder and begins taking him out the door. Peeta raises to stand and steps towards them.

"Do you need help taking him home?" Peeta asks.

Darius shakes his head.

"He's out cold so he's not going to try and sling me one. You stay with Katniss," Darius says.

Peeta nods his head but does go and open the door for them. He watches them walk down the street before coming back and sitting next to me. His hand curls around his almost empty beer bottle and he takes a sip before smiling shyly at me.

"I hope you had a good day," he says.

"Surprisingly I did. Though I can't wait to get a hug from our little monkey tomorrow," I say.

Peeta smiles and nods in agreement.

"I didn't think I would miss her this much. I only saw her yesterday but there were times today that I couldn't help but wonder what she was getting up to," he says.

"I know what you mean. I was so jealous of her teacher when she first started school. She got to spend six hours a day with my daughter when I couldn't," I reply.

Peeta laughs and then sighs.

"And so a day without Ava ends with us talking about her," Peeta says.

I smile as I reach out and take his hand. Peeta smiles softly at me as I do.

"As much as days like this are good, and probably healthy, we can never forget we are parents," I say.

"And I don't want to," Peeta replies.

His thumb starts brushing the top of my hand.

"You are a really great dad," I say.

Peeta gives my hand a gentle squeeze.

"That's what hurt the most when you left. I knew what Ava would be missing out on with you gone and I hated that she wouldn't get a chance to be loved by a father like she deserved," I say.

Peeta grips my hand tighter and forces me to look straight in his eyes.

"Leaving Ava, leaving you both, was the hardest thing that I ever had to do. I won't be able to do it again," he says passionately.

And I believe him. And I feel another piece of him worm back inside of my heart.

"I'm glad you came back," I admit.

Peeta smiles at me sweetly but then the owner of the bar starts to turns lights off and we are forced to move out.

Peeta helps me put on my jacket and I wrap my arms around me when we get outside. We pause on the sidewalk and Peeta gives me a grin and offers me one of his arms.

"Can I walk you home?" he asks.

I smile at him as I shake my head.

"Not tonight," I reply.

Peeta furrows his brows in confusion.

"Why not?" he asks.

"Because if I let you walk me home, I'm going to kiss you goodnight," I reply.

"And that would be a bad thing?" he asks.

I shake my head as I take a step towards him. I place a hand on his arm as I look up into his eyes.

"I'm falling back in love with you, Peeta. But I'm not ready yet. Can you wait?" I ask.

"Always," he replies.

I give him another smile before reaching up on my toes and kissing him on the cheek. He watches me walk and disappear into the darkness.

* * *

I sleep in the next day, knowing I don't have to pick up Ava until later. I trudge down the stairs still in my pyjamas and smile at my mom as she reads a food magazine in the kitchen.

"I almost thought you would spend the night at Peeta's last night," Mom says with a grin.

"He's not that irresistible," I reply.

Mom laughs but we are interrupted by Dad coming crashing through the door. Mom and I turn to look at him, startled. The colour has drained from his face and there is a mad panic in his eyes.

"Heath, what's wrong?" Mom asks.

"It's Joel. At the bakery. He's been found strangled," he states.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, I know! Another cliffhanger! I'm sure people will have plenty of guesses of what happened to Joel. The last couple of chapters have been quite fluffy but the fluffiness is going to be pt aside in the next few ones as more drama unfolds.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

All the noise in the room seems to be sucked out due to Dad's revelation. Mom lets out a loud gasp and my blood runs cold. Slowly I shake my head in disbelief. I saw Joel alive and well only two days ago. Things like this don't happen in Seam.

"When did this happen?" I ask.

"The police are not sure. Peeta found him this morning when he went to turn the ovens on. Current guesses are that Joel was lying there all night," Dad replies.

Mom shakes her head.

"Why would anyone want to hurt Joel? He has a smile for everyone," Mom says.

Dad doesn't answer straight away but flashes me a glance. That one look is enough to tell me that Peeta is involved somehow.

My heart rate picks up and my mind immediately rushes to Ava. Is she safe after someone was found dead in her father's workplace? A feeling of dread falls over me and I scramble out of the room to get my phone. My fingers shake as I try to quickly dial the number of the house Ava stayed at last night. I press the phone to my ear and drum my fingers impatiently as I wait for Twill to pick up.

"Come on, Twill. Pick up. Pick up," I mutter.

I begin pacing up and down the hallway and Mom and Dad appear in the doorway. They watch on with concerned looks. My heart hammers faster the longer the phones rings. It keeps ringing until it almost goes to voicemail but finally Twill picks up.

"Katniss," she says a little breathlessly, "Ava had a great time last night. Though she was a little cheeky when we tried to get them all to go to bed."

I grip my phone closer to my ear as I prepare myself to fire off a list of questions.

"But she's okay, right? She's safe? No one came looking for her last night?" I ask, slightly panicked.

"No. She's perfectly fine. She's busy dancing to _Frozen_ with all the girls right now," Twill replies.

I let out a sigh of relief and sink back against the wall. I run a hand through my hair and turn to give my parents a thumbs up to show them Ava is okay. They both sigh in relief and Dad wraps an arm around Mom before placing a kiss on her head.

"Thank God! Can you put her on the phone for a minute? I need to hear her voice," I ask.

"Of course," Twill replies but I can hear the confusion in her voice. "Is everything alright, Katniss?"

I pause before taking a deep breath and telling Twill about Joel. She gasps and I can imagine her shaking her head just like Mom did moments ago.

"There's not much information but I think it may have something to do with Peeta. I think Joel was hurt because of him. I'm not sure how safe Seam is for Ava at the moment," I admit.

"Jesus, Katniss. This is very huge and scary," Twill replies.

"I know. I can't believe I'm back here again," I say.

I start my pacing again through the hallway as I run my hand through my hair. Twill pauses before speaking again.

"Ava can stay here today, if you like. If it's safer for her to be here or if you just need time to sort things out, I can look after her. I'll help any way I can," she says.

"Thank you," I reply.

It's times like this that makes me glad I live in a small town. I can relax a little knowing that the wrong people are unlikely to find Ava at her friend's house for now. She can stay there, safe, while I figure out just how much danger she is in.

"Can you not mention any of this to Ava, please? I want to speak to Peeta before I decide whether to tell her anything," I ask.

"Whatever you want. I'll tell her you have stuff at the diner to do. She'll be too busy playing to notice much any way," Twill replies.

"That'd be great," I say.

"Do you still want to speak to her?" Twill asks.

"Yes," I say. "Put her on."

I then hear a rustling as Twill puts down the phone and calls through to Ava. I hear squeals of delight as the girls are obviously enjoying their game and then some groans as Ava is dragged away. My daughter's voice floats through the phone a moment later and my heart jumps for joy at the sound.

"Hello, Mommy. We're making _Frozen_ dances. I get to be Anna but Robin gets to be Elsa 'cos she has blonde hair. Jamie is mad because she only gets to be Olaf," Ava rattles off.

I smile as I hear her talk so normally. She has no clue about the storm brewing at the bakery and the potential role her father has to play in it.

"That sounds fun, bug. Did you miss me at all? I missed you and all your cuddles," I say.

"Robin's mom isn't as good as telling stories as you, Mommy. She doesn't do the voices. But Robin had an ice-cream cake! It was the yummiest thing in the whole wide world!" Ava declares.

I chuckle.

"Don't tell your daddy that," I say. "I'm going to pick you up a bit later, okay? I have some adult stuff to do."

"You mean I get to stay at Robin's longer?" she asks excitedly.

"Yeah. But you've got to be good or Robin's mom will call me and I'll pick you up," I reply.

"I will, Mommy. Robin got glitter paint for her birthday and said I can share some. It's going to be so much fun!" she says.

"I can't wait to see what you paint. I'll see you later. I love you," I say.

"I love you, Mommy," she replies.

We say our goodbyes and I smile as I hang up the phone. But the worry soon sets in again as I am still not sure if my daughter is in any danger. I turn to my parents and they give me a sympathetic smile.

"I need to talk to Peeta," I say.

Dad nods his head.

"It can't be a coincidence that his boss is murdered in the building below his apartment," he says.

I let out a weary sigh and run my hand through my hair.

"Everything was so good. I don't know if I should be angry at him for dragging us back into this world," I say.

Mom slips a comforting arm around my shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

"I believe Peeta will be pretty angry at himself right now too. He's done a lot these last couple of months to show us Ava is his top priority. This is the last thing he would have wanted to happen," she says.

I give her a small smile but take a deep breath as I step out her arms.

"Promise to keep an eye out. Maybe even go and spend the day at the Cartwrights. If someone is targeting Peeta, then we could all be in danger," I say.

My parents nod their heads and we all share a grim look. I've been guilty of forgetting some of Peeta's past but reality has come crashing back in.

* * *

I wrap my arms myself as I walk towards the bakery. Police from neighbouring towns have been brought over and crawl along the sidewalk. Police tape stops anyone getting too close to the scene of the crime but already a large crowd of locals gather by the tape. They stand in huddles and watch on nervously as they wait for more news.

There are lots of murmurings from the crowd. They state how tragic Joel's death is. How nothing like this has happened in Seam before. But this stops as I approach. People turn to look at me and stare at me with cold looks before eventually bending their heads to whisper.

"It's all her fault. She brought Mellark to this town. Joel would still be alive if she hadn't," I catch one of them say.

The comment doesn't surprise me. There have always been people that haven't warmed to the idea of Peeta being back and I can't blame them. Their fears have been realised and affect them more directly than they did before.

I can't acknowledge their remarks as I walk past and try not to contemplate how true their words could be.

I begin to scan the surroundings after I have moved past the crowd. I search for a flash of red hair and eventually locate Darius near one of the police vans. My steps become more urgent as I push forward to reach him. He looks terrible. All the colour has been drained from his face and he clearly didn't find a razor this morning. He doesn't even manage to give me a smile when I reach him.

"How are you? I can't believe this happened," I say.

He nods his head solemnly and shoves his hands into his pockets. He looks back towards the bakery with remorse and regret.

"I'm not cut out for crime like this, Katniss. The blood vessels in his eyes were popped and oozing blood and all I could think about was how I still owe him for the beer he bought me last week," he says.

I step in to wrap my arms around him. It takes a moment for him to respond but eventually he remembers how to use his arms and squeezes me tight.

"I was in the bar all last bight and I had no clue he was being attacked. It is my job to protect the people in this town but I failed because I was getting drunk in the bar with Haymitch," he says.

I shake my head fiercely as I pull back and force him to look at me.

"There are some things you can't stop. It's your job now to make sure we get justice for Joel," I say.

Darius sniffs as he nods his head. He gives me one last squeeze before pulling back completely and tipping his head up towards Peeta's apartment.

"Peeta's inside. He's pretty shaken up. He was the one that found the body," he says.

I nod my head.

"He's involved in Joel's death, isn't he?" I ask.

Darius pauses and looks a bit pained before slowly nodding his head.

"There was a note pinned to Joel's body. It said ' _Time for Rye to come out of hiding'_. It doesn't take a genius to work out who wrote it," Darius admits.

The Careers I think as my heart plummets and my suspicions are confirmed. Ava's safety just got a whole lot more perilous.

"You can go and see him. He's just in his kitchen. There is an officer with him but you will be able to talk," Darius says.

"Thank you," I say.

I step in to give him another hug.

"Stay safe," he whispers in my ear.

We share a weak smile and I give him another squeeze before I step away and go to Peeta.

I go up to his kitchen and tentatively peek around the door to catch a glimpse of him. A police officer leans against a counter, flicking through a magazine, while Peeta sits at the table with his head in his hands. The grip on his hair is tight and his skin ashen. My heart clenches at the sight but Peeta snaps his head up when he hears me enter. Before I can even really register what is happening, he pushes off his chair and darts round to take a tight grip of my arms. His eyes look fiercely into mine and there is a wild panic in them.

"Is Ava safe? Where is she?" he asks, desperately.

His eyes implore mine and are filled with fear. His grip on me tightens so much that I fear I will bruise there tomorrow.

"She's safe. She's still at Robin's and oblivious to everything happening," I reply as calmly as possible.

Peeta's grip on my arm relaxes slightly. He keeps his eyes firmly locked onto mine and looks at me desperately.

"You need to get out of Seam. Both of you. The further away the better. It's not safe for you here anymore. Don't you know someone who lives in Nut? You need to go there," he says.

I nod my head.

"One of my friends from high school moved there. I'm sure they would be happy to have us," I reply.

"Good. Go there. Stay there for at least a week. At least until this is all sorted out," he says.

Peeta glances quickly in the direction of the police officer who raises his eyebrow at him. Peeta ducks his head as he turns back to me. I know that look. I saw it so many times when we were together and every time it filled me with dread.

"Don't do anything stupid. Let the police deal with this," I say.

Peeta scoffs and shakes his head.

"They've been trying to catch Cato and Marvel for three months and haven't succeeded. That's not going to change now," he replies.

I shake my head fiercely.

"If you want us to be safe, you have to keep yourself safe too. That means staying out of it. You promised you would do that when you came back into our lives," I say.

Peeta's shoulders sag and he finally releases my arms as he steps back.

"I don't know what to do. I thought by walking away from everything it would mean Ava would be safe. But I was naïve to think that. Enemies don't disappear overnight," he says.

I nod my head but surprise myself with my next words.

"I don't regret letting you get to know Ava," I say.

Peeta looks up at me surprised. I know I should be angry about this. Ava is in danger again. But it's different this time. Maybe it's because I've seen how hard Peeta has worked to change. Maybe it's because it's not his actions that have led to this happening. This is happening because of Rye. And I can't be mad at Peeta for something that is his brother's fault.

I step forward and stroke Peeta's cheek.

"I don't blame you," I say softly.

Peeta gives me a small smile as he holds my hand close to his cheek. He leans forward to press his forehead against mine.

"I'm sorry. I keep on causing you problems. No matter how hard I try, I still manage to fuck up," he says.

"Yes. You do. I would give anything to have normal and mundane," I reply.

Peeta smiles too and but sighs as his thumb strokes my cheek.

"Do you think we can ever have normal?" he asks.

"I don't know," I reply honestly. "But I hope we can."

* * *

I make some tea for us and we sit in silence. The weight of today' actions weigh heavy on both of us and neither of us like what we need to do next. We can't relax until we can ensure Ava's safety.

Eventually Darius knocks on the door and steps into the kitchen. He sighs heavily as he takes a seat next to us.

"Mrs Donner saw two men that match your description of Cato and Marvel driving in a red Chevrolet around seven o'clock last night. That fits the estimate for time of death. We're trying to track the car now," he says.

We all nod our heads.

"Do you think Peeta was the real target?" I ask.

"Most likely," Darius says. "When they found he wasn't here, they took Joel instead. It sends a clear message."

Peeta gulps and goes even paler.

"I didn't want to believe it when I saw him. I tried to convince myself he was just sleeping. It was only when I saw the red marks and wire around his neck that I realised the truth. I immediately threw up in the sink," Peeta says.

I reach out to grip his hand. Darius nods his head.

"We need to know where Rye is. This happened because The Careers want to get at him. Do you know where he is?" Darius asks.

Peeta shakes his head.

"He hasn't sent me an address since the Christmas card incident," he replies.

"But you can get in contact with him? He's vital in catching the people that did this to Joel," Darius says.

Peeta shakes his head.

"And you can throw him in jail at the same time," he says.

Darius and I share a look.

"You are not betraying your brother. This will help Ava," Darius says.

Peeta shakes his head and then abruptly stands up.

"I need time. Just make sure Katniss and Ava are safe," he says.

He then leaves the room without looking back.

* * *

I leave Peeta's apartment and immediately call my parents. Dad picks up after the first ring.

"Is everything alright? Were they after Peeta?" he asks.

"Yes. It's not safe for us in Seam at the moment. I'm going to see if me and Ava can go and stay with Jo for a while," I reply.

"Okay. What do you need from us?" Dad asks.

"Just stay alert. I'm going to pack up some stuff and take Ava out of here," I say.

"We'll come and help you pack," Dad says.

I just manage a smile.

"Thank you," I say. I pause before speaking again. "And thank you for not saying I told you so."

"It's taking all my will power to not go round there and give Peeta a piece of my mind. He can't stop from putting you and Ava in danger," Dad replies.

"I really thought it was different this time. I don't even know how to begin to explain this to Ava. She's going to be devastated to be separated from him," I say.

"I know and I hate him for it. But you need to be truthful with Ava without scaring her," he says.

I nod my head.

"I couldn't do this without you, Dad," I say.

"Just because your grown up doesn't mean I won't stop trying to protect you," he says.

"Thanks," I say with a smile. "I'll see you before I leave?"

"Your mom and I will be round in as soon as we can," he says.

I nod my head and we say our goodbyes. As I continue to make the journey back home, I phone my friend in Nut and she is more than happy to have us after I explain the situation.

When I get home, I rush about the house gathering items for Ava and me to take. I start throwing things into suitcases and try to prioritise Ava's favourite toys. As I am rummaging in her bookcase, my phone starts ringing. I scramble to pull it out my pocket and my heart sinks when I see the caller ID. It's Twill.

"Hello," I say before holding my breath as I wait for an answer.

"Katniss. I'm so sorry to call you with everything going on but something's happened with Ava," she says.

My heart plummets in my chest and the bile rises in the back of my throat.

"What's happened?" I ask desperately.

"Delly came round to pick up Jamie and started talking about Peeta and what happened to Joel. She didn't hold back and Ava overheard her saying nasty things about Peeta. Ava just started screaming at Delly and telling her to stop telling lies about her daddy. She then threw a cushion and ran off to hide under the table, crying. I've tried everything but she won't come out," Twill says.

I'm little relieved. I curse Delly and her big mouth and my heart hurts to know my daughter is upset but I know it could be a lot worse.

"Okay. I'll be round in fifteen minutes," I say.

Twill tells me that's fine and I'm already grabbing my keys and rushing out the door to my daughter.

Twill looks stressed when I knock on the door and she ushers me quickly into the hallway.

"I'm so sorry that this happened. I thought all the girls were playing upstairs. I would have never let Delly say all those things if I thought they were in earshot," she says.

"It's not your fault. Some of the things she said were probably true. What was it she exactly said?" I ask.

We pause for a moment in the hallway so Twill can give me the full story.

"She was just blaming Peeta for Joel's death. She said he was a scumbag that deserves to be in jail. She said he is the most dangerous person in Seam," Twill replies.

"Great," I say with a sigh. "I should have known she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut."

Twill smiles at me sympathetically and shows me through to the room Ava is hiding in.

"She did look a bit sheepish after Ava kicked off but didn't apologise. I kindly asked her to leave," Twill says.

I give her a grateful smile and she gestures to the wooden dining room table. I crouch down and spy Ava sitting curled up against one of the legs. Her knees are pulled up to her chest and she's wrapped her arms around them. The tear tracks are obvious on her cheeks and she sniffs loudly.

I thank Twill again before crawling under the table and squishing next to Ava.

"Hi, bug. How you doing?" I ask, reaching out to stroke her hair.

Ava sniffs loudly again as she instantly snuggles into my side. I put an arm around her and kiss the top of her head.

"Jamie's mom was saying mean things about Daddy," she sniffles.

"I know, sweetie. Daddy will be glad you were there to stick up for him," I say.

Ava tips up her head to look at me.

"Where is Daddy? I want to see him," she says.

My heart cracks at her words and I pull her in closer.

"You can't right now, bug. He's a bit busy," I say.

Ava's bottom lip begins to tremble and she pulls slightly away from me.

"Is it true he's in jail? Did he really kill Joel?" she asks.

I turn her so I can look her directly in the eye.

"No. Your daddy wouldn't hurt anyone like that," I say, passionately.

The tears gather in the corners of her eyes, threatening to brim over and I wish I didn't have to have this conversation.

"Your daddy has done some bad things but he didn't kill Joel and is helping the police try to catch who did," I say.

"What bad things did he do?" she asks.

I take a deep breath as I plan my next words carefully.

"He's stolen some things that he shouldn't have but he doesn't do that anymore," I say.

Ava sniffs as she nods. Her head drops and I reach down to wipe away some of the tears that have slipped down her cheek.

"Daddy loves you more than anything in the world and he's trying really hard to be the best daddy he can be. He's trying really hard to be good so he can spend as much time as possible with you," I say.

"When will I see him again?" Ava asks.

"I'm not sure, bug. Daddy has asked us to go away for a while so he can help the police catch the real baddies. Hopefully it will only be a couple of days," I say.

Ava flings her arms around me.

"I don't want to go," she says.

I reach out to stroke the top of her hair.

"I don't want to go either. But we have to listen to Daddy. He wants what is best for us," I say.

Ava nods her head and I hold her tight as the tears continue to fall down her cheeks. I begin to rock her in a feeble attempt to make her feel better.

Eventually I manage to coax Ava out from underneath Twill's table and I thank Twill once again for looking after my daughter today. I'm emotionally exhausted as Ava and I leave and all my limbs ache. Ava is unnaturally quiet as we drive back and I have to carry her to the door when we arrive at the house.

Mom and Dad pull up onto the sidewalk as I try to find my keys and give me sad smiles as they come to help me.

"It's been a tough day," Dad says, reaching out to stroke Ava's hair.

Ava can't even manage a smile for her grandparents and I sigh as we make our way into the house.

"I'll make you some spaghetti before you go. You will need your energy for the drive to Nut," Mom says.

I give her a tired smile and we all file into the living room. I'm not really looking when I put Ava down but freeze when I hear a male voice call out.

"Hello, Katniss," it says.

I'm stunned as I slowly turn around to find Rye sitting proudly in my dad's armchair. A smile plays on his lips as his eyes pin me to the spot.

"I hear everyone is looking for me," he says.

* * *

 **A/N: And Rye finally makes his appearance! There is still a lot of unfinished business between him and Peeta and the next couple of chapters are going to be tough on Everlark.**

 **Thanks to everyone that still supports this story.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The sight of somebody has never infuriated me as much as seeing Rye. He sits so casually in my father's chair. One foot rests on his knee while a lazy arm is thrown over the back of it. It's like he owns it. He keeps his eyes on me and the smug smile makes my blood boil.

I hate him.

Dad tenses beside me while Mom manages to catch my eye to give me a worried look. She immediately puts a hand on Ava's shoulder and turns my daughter away.

"Come on, Ava. I need some help with the spaghetti," Mom says.

She starts ushering Ava out the room but Ava turns to look at me with a confused stare. My heart thuds in my chest at the thought of her being near someone so dangerous. I force a smile and nod my head to tell her she should go with my mom. Ava frowns and turns to stare at Rye before eventually following my mom out the room.

"Grandma, who is that man? He looks like Daddy," she asks.

"No one important, sweetpea. If you come quickly I might let you lick the spoon at the end," Mom replies.

I don't hear Ava's reply as they disappear towards the kitchen. Once I'm sure she's out of earshot, I snap my head back round to Rye. He is still wearing that stupid smug smile and a huge part of me wants to whack it off his face.

"How cute. She's grown a lot since I last saw her. She's your double but it's good to see that she's got the Mellark baby blues," he says.

"You don't give a damn about Ava so don't pretend," I growl.

Rye gives me another smile as he picks at his nails.

"You're right. Children bore me. Even if she did take my brother away from me," he replies.

"I won't let you hurt her," I say.

"I don't want to hurt her. I have bigger fish to fry than a five-year-old girl," Rye says.

"So why don't you just tell us why you are really here?" Dad cuts in.

Rye flicks his eyes to Dad and gives him a smile before leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"You really should secure your house better, Heath. With murderers on the loose, I was able to climb through the window in the downstairs bathroom," Rye replies.

Dad narrows his eyes and clenches his fists.

"I'm calling the police," he says.

He turns to the phone but is stopped by Rye's words.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you. I came prepared," he says.

Dad turns back to him and Rye shifts back to lift up his jacket and reveal a gun hidden in his belt. I flinch and my heart jumps into my mouth. Rye catches it and leans back into the chair with a laugh.

"And here I thought you would be used to seeing guns after what happened the last time I was in town," he says.

"I can't believe you brought one into a house with my daughter," I say.

"It didn't bother you before when Peeta kept one in his sock drawer. I'm disappointed by your double standards," Rye replies.

My heart sinks. I always knew Peeta hid a gun there when we were together but I liked to pretend it didn't exist. After the incident when Ava was a baby, I swore I would never let another gun in my house again.

Dad seems to grow a bit more confident and squares his shoulders as he takes a step towards Rye.

"Can I assume you are here for Peeta? It's the only reason that you would come back here, particularly with police swarming all over town," Dad says.

A wide grins spreads across Rye's face.

"Bingo. You're more than just a pretty face, Heath," Rye says patronisingly. "Though coming here is the perfect cover. It's the last place they would look to find me."

Dad clenches and unclenches his fists and I can tell it is taking all his will power not to take a swing at Rye.

"You have probably heard that some rival gang want to over throw me. They are ruining my reputation and need to be put back in their place. And it's about time my baby brother remembered his responsibilities and helped out the brother he loves so much," Rye says.

"Peeta won't be easily dragged back into your games. He has other responsibilities now. Ava is his main priority," I say.

To my surprise, Rye's grin widens.

"Oh, I know. I'm planning on it," he replies.

My blood runs cold at the menacing smile he gives me. I don't know exactly what he plans to say to Peeta but for the first time in a long time I'm terrified he's going to win.

He keeps hold of my stare as he leans forward again.

"Now be a good girl and phone him for me. I think a reunion is long overdue," he says.

I gulp as he waits for me to move. I have no option but to do as he says. It's the only way I will get him out of the house and away from Ava.

I turn to Dad and he gives me a resigned nod of the head.

"I'll stay here with him. You call Peeta," Dad says.

I nod my head and turn to leave the room. Just as I am about to leave, I shoot Rye a glare to show my disgust for him.

Once in the hallway, I pull out my phone and call Peeta's number. The phone barely rings twice before his panicked voice answers.

"Katniss, have you left yet?" he asks.

"No," I reply. "There's been a change of plans. We have a visitor. He wants to see you."

I'm careful with my words. I'm sure the police are monitoring Peeta's calls in case Rye does get in touch and I can't risk the police coming round here while Rye and Ava are under the same roof. I don't want to predict what Rye would do if he was ambushed.

Peeta goes silent on the other end of the line and I know he is trying to decipher my tone.

"Is it just one visitor?" he asks.

"Yes. He wants to thank you for the Christmas card," I reply.

Peeta is silent again but I hope my clues show that it is Rye here and not one of The Careers.

"I'll be over as soon as the police finished taking my statement," he says.

"Okay. I'll see you soon," I say.

"Yeah. Bye, Katniss," Peeta says.

I say goodbye too and then Peeta cuts off. I didn't realise how fast my heart is hammering until I take the phone away from my ear. I clutch the phone to my chest and hope that Peeta gets here quickly.

I sit on the stairs in the hallway as I wait for him to come. I can imagine Dad in the living room giving Rye hard glares while Rye tries to joke and make a mess of the room. I glance at my watch every few seconds to check the time and let out a frustrated huff when I realise no time at all has really passed.

I stare at the door in front on me, drumming my fingers against my leg and willing the doorbell to ring. It eventually does with a shrill ring and I jump up to answer it. I yank the door back and quickly pull in a worried looking Peeta.

"Rye's here?" he asks for confirmation.

"Yes," I reply. "He wants you to help him with The Careers."

Peeta clenches his jaw and turns his head towards the direction of the front room. Rye's laughter can be heard floating through the door and Peeta's shoulders tense.

"I'm sorry. This is the last thing I wanted," he says.

I smile at him sadly but it's like Ava can sense her daddy is here as she opens the kitchen door and beams when she sees Peeta.

"Daddy!" she exclaims, running towards him and flinging her arms around him. "Mommy said we wouldn't see you."

Peeta snaps his head away from the front room door to focus his attention on Ava. He manages to smile at her and kisses the top of his head.

"Hey, bug. I managed to find some time to see you before you and Mommy go away," he says.

"You should come with us, Daddy. We're going to see Jo and she has a tyre swing in her garden," Ava says.

Peeta smiles as he strokes some of her hair.

"Maybe next time. I've got stuff I need to do here," he replies.

Ava bows her head and begins picking at the strap of his watch.

"Are you going to find the man that killed Joel?" she asks.

Peeta looks up at me and we share a pained filled glance.

"I'm going to help put him in prison. And then I will be free to come and join you and Mommy. You can show me how high you can go on the tyre swing," he says.

Ava nods her head but still looks despondent.

"I'll miss you, Daddy," she says.

Peeta gives her a sad smile.

"I'll miss you too, bug," he says.

He then places a long kiss on her forehead before pulling away and ushering her back to the kitchen.

"What were you doing in the kitchen? Were you helping Grandma?" he asks.

"Yes. We're making spaghetti," Ava says a bit more upbeat.

"That sounds so yummy. I bet Grandma still needs your help. Mommy can help too," Peeta says.

Ava nods her head in agreement and Peeta pushes open the kitchen door with one hand. Mom looks a little surprised to see him but quickly hides it as she encourages Ava to come and try the sauce. Ava scampers over to her so Mom can bend down and hold out the spoon for her. Peeta and I watch her for a moment before he gently touches my elbow.

"I'll get Rye out the house. I don't want him near Ava," he says.

I nod my head in agreement and he gives my elbow a squeeze before ducking out the room before Ava notices.

I go over to Mom and Ava sticks out her tongue to lick up the sauce that has dribbled down her chin.

"That's yummy, Grandma. Can I have some now?" she asks.

I chuckle as I reach own to stroke the top of her head.

"You're always thinking about food. But the spaghetti hasn't boiled yet," I say.

Ava huffs a little as Mom and I grin. She then turns around and sees Peeta has left the room. Her smile soon drops off her face.

"Daddy's gone already. He didn't say goodbye," she says.

"He's still here. He just needs to talk to someone," I say.

Ava looks up at me and thinks for a long moment.

"Does he know that man in the other room?" Ava asks.

Mom and I share a glance before I bend down to look Ava in the eye.

"Yes. He does," I reply.

I can't lie to her. Not when I don't know what is going to happen. It's better to be as truthful as I can now as it will be easier to explain once everything is over.

"How does Daddy know him?" she asks.

I take a deep breath before answering.

"He's your dad's brother," I reply.

"Is that why he looks like Daddy?" she asks.

"Yes. Brothers and sisters often look alike even though Auntie Prim and I look different," I say.

Ava nods her head and is silent again as she contemplates something.

"Why doesn't Daddy see him more? I thought brothers were supposed to play with each other all the time," she says.

I sigh as I pull her towards me. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and look deep into her eyes.

"He's not a very nice man and he's done a lot of bad things," I say.

"Like when Daddy stole things?" Ava asks.

I nod my head.

"But your uncle still steal things and Daddy doesn't like that. Daddy doesn't want him around," I say.

Ava nods her head and then wraps her arms around my neck.

"I don't like him, Mommy," she says.

I smile as I hug her close.

"I don't like him either, bug," I say.

* * *

Dad comes back through to the kitchen a moment later. Ava sits on my lap, drawing more pictures, and Dad comes to sit next to us with a grim look.

"I tried to listen through the door but couldn't make anything out," he says. "How I wish I could just throw him out the house."

I nod my head and Ava turns to look at my dad. She pushes a piece of paper towards him.

"Everyone looks sad. I'm drawing sunshine and rainbows to make everyone happy again. You can have this one, Grandpa," she says.

Dad smiles fondly at her as he takes the picture off her.

"Thank you. Seeing you always makes me happy," he says.

He tweaks her nose and Ava grins, satisfied for now, before turning back to her most recent picture. I stroke her hair and place a kiss on top of her head, desperately wishing I can keep her as innocent as possible.

Time drags by slowly as Peeta and Rye talk in the other room. Mom serves us the spaghetti and I try to distract Ava with questions about _Frozen_ and her favourite animals. Dad is silent throughout the meal and both of us check the clock every few minutes to see how long has passed. As every passing minute goes, my sense of dread grows.

Eventually we hear some movement in the hallway, followed shortly by the opening and shutting of the front door. I tense and sit up straight as footsteps can be heard approaching the kitchen. The door opens and Ava immediately jumps off her seat when she sees Peeta's curls appear round it. She flings herself into him and he bends down to hoist her on his hip.

"Daddy! I drew you a picture of the sun to cheer you up. Look! He has sunglasses!" she says.

She shoves the picture in his face and he smiles as he studies it carefully.

"Thank you. He is the happiest looking sun I've ever seen," Peeta replies as he walks them to the table.

Peeta takes a seat and Ava settles in his lap. Her arms wrap around his neck tightly and she snuggles as close as possible to him. She may only be five but she is more perceptive than we give her credit for. She knows something is wrong with her daddy and desperately clings to him to try and keep him here.

"Did that man go? Is he really your brother?" Ava asks.

Peeta reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and nods his head.

"Yes. But he's gone now and won't be coming back," Peeta replies.

Up until now he has avoided my stare but he now quickly flashes a glance in my direction. It's fleeting and I barely catch hold of it but one brief look is enough. Rye has got to Peeta.

Peeta goes back to ignoring me and my heart falls in my chest. This hurts more than when he left the first time.

"Are you hungry, Daddy? Grandma still has some spaghetti left. I helped make the sauce and wore the apron you gave me," Ava says.

"I definitely need to try some. If that is okay with your grandma?" Peeta replies.

He looks towards my mom and she nods her head before silently getting up to serve him a plate. Peeta takes it gratefully but finds it hard to eat as Ava refuses to get out of his lap. She is the only one who talks as she tells Peeta all about her drawings while the rest of us all wait to discover the outcome with Rye.

I let Peeta enjoy all of Ava's ramblings and stand back as he plays ponies with her before bed. The tension stays in my body and only grows tighter as the minutes tick towards Ava's bed time. I run through a variety of scenarios of what Rye has got Peeta to do but the images in my head get worse and more morbid as time goes on and I have to stop myself as my anxiety level grows.

Eventually it is time for Ava to go to bed and she groans when I tell her.

"Can you read me a story? Both you and Daddy?" she asks.

I pause and flick my eyes towards Peeta. I don't really feel like acting happy families when I know he has got something bad to tell me. But Ava's eyes plead with me and I don't know if she will ever get a normal night with both of us again. I let out a long sigh before nodding my head.

"Okay. You better go up and pick one out," I say.

Ava grins and bounds up the stairs to her bedroom. Peeta catches my eye and gives me a grateful look but I quickly look away, my expression blank.

We don't talk as we climb the stairs and don't look at each other as we enter Ava's room. She turns to us with a wide grin and waves a colourful book about a frog in the air.

"I found one!" she declares.

I smile at her fondly and she then rushes to her bed. She clambers onto it and snuggles into the middle. There is just enough space for Peeta and I to sit either side of her. She looks at us expectedly and reluctantly I join her on the bed. Peeta follows behind me and we squish together on the small bed. Both of us put an arm around our daughter and our shoulders press against each other. I tense again but don't dare turn to look at him.

"I don't think I know this story," Peeta says as Ava opens the book.

"It's good, Daddy. The frog wants to become a prince so tries to get all the princesses to kiss him. But no one wants to kiss a frog!" Ava replies.

Peeta chuckles as he squeezes Ava tighter. He then turns to look at me.

"Does Mommy want to start?" he asks.

I look back at him blankly but nod my head.

"Can I see the book please?" I say.

Ava nods her head and moves the book in front of me. She tucks her toy goat under her arm and places her head on Peeta's chest as I begin to read. Peeta and I take it in turns to read the pages and Ava giggles as we put on different voices for the characters. I put aside the trepidation I feel towards Peeta to entertain our daughter and it's worth it to hear her laughter.

Peeta finishes the story and Ava smiles at him.

"You're funny doing the voice of a princess, Daddy," she says.

"I once dressed up as a princess for Halloween. And Mommy dressed up as my handsome prince," he replies.

I try not to smile as I remember Peeta in the blond wig and corset. He doesn't get to bring up good memories when he is about to disappoint me again.

Peeta sighs when he sees my neutral expression and turns back to Ava.

"It's time for you to go to sleep now. I'm not going to fall for your tricks to get me to read more stories!" Peeta says, poking her in the tummy.

Ava's face falls and she drops her eyes.

"Are you going to be here tomorrow?" she asks.

Peeta's shoulders sink and he shakes his head. He puts his finger underneath Ava's chin so he can tip it up to look at her.

"I've got a job I need to do tomorrow. I don't know how long I will be away," he says.

My suspicions are almost confirmed and my heart feels heavy and aches. Ava drops her head again and Peeta pulls her in for a tight hug.

"I love you, bug. I will always love you. You are the best thing in my life," he says.

His words sound like a final goodbye and my heart begins to crack. I watch as Ava clings to him tightly.

"I love you too, Daddy. Please come back quickly," she says.

"I'll really try," Peeta replies.

He then places a kiss on her head and slowly extracts himself from her bed. I lean in to give Ava a kiss too before standing up and telling her to close her eyes. Ava clutches her toy goat while Peeta and I slowly back out of the room.

Once in the hallway I look at Peeta for the first times in ages. He looks defeated as he tips his head towards the front room downstairs.

"We need to talk," he says.

I nod my head and follow him silently down the stairs.

Peeta walks into the centre of the room and stops to look at me. My feelings of trepidation have only grown since Rye's left and I've begun to piece together exactly what he was asked. Peeta wrings his hands in front of him as he gains the courage to speak.

"Rye wants to put Cato and Marvel away. He's not been able to do his usual business and the incident with Joel is the last straw. He has a plan to stop them," he says.

"And he needs your help," I state.

There's no point beating about the bush. Rye's always wanted his little brother by his side. Peeta nods his head.

"He's managed to get his hands on a large amount of cocaine. He's knows where Cato and Marvel are hiding out and plans to plant the drugs there and take back the money they stole from us a few months ago. Then all it needs is a quick call to the police and they will be behind bars," Peeta says.

"Why not just call the cops straight away? They are looking for them. And then you don't have to get involved," I say.

"Because there is no evidence to put them away! No DNA or forensic evidence linking them to Joel's murder or the other crimes they have committed. They might have been seen in Seam but you can't charge someone for driving here. That amount of drugs in their possession would mean twenty-five years in jail. And it would mean Ava is safe," Peeta replies.

I shake my head. There has to be a better way.

"But why you? Surely he has other members of his gang to help him with this?" I say.

"He doesn't trust anyone in his crew. He suspects someone is leaking information to Cato and Marvel. I need to be there as his back up," he replies.

"You don't need to be there. You promised me that you wouldn't get involved with Rye again. You promised me that Ava was your only priority. I can't believe I trusted you," I say.

Anger starts to rise up inside of me. He's disappointed me once again but this time it's going to hurt Ava too.

"I'm doing this for Ava! Cato and Marvel need to be behind bars to keep her safe!" Peeta exclaims.

"And what about the next time Rye pisses someone off? Will you need to do another job then to make sure she's 'safe'?" I say.

I take a step towards him and feel my emotions bubbling on the surface. Peeta holds my stare with equal intent as he shakes his head furiously.

"He's leaving once this is done. Somewhere out west with a new identity. This is the bargain I have to make to ensure he is out of our lives forever," Peeta says.

"There are other ways for you to do that," I say.

The tears start to brim in my eyes. I know Peeta better than anyone and know he can be stubborn when he wants to be. I won't be able to change his mind.

"If you do this, I can't let you come back. You'll break Ava's heart," I say.

My voice cracks at the end and I almost say that he will break my heart as well. Because after everything, I've fallen back in love with him again. And I'm not sure how I will cope with losing him again.

But I don't tell him that. I don't want to be the reason he stays. If he can't stay for Ava, then he's not worth my love.

Peeta drops his head but steps forward to take a grip of my forearms. He forces me to look into his eyes and I see the pain and conflict swimming through his eyes.

"I know," he says. "But she will be safe. And that's more important."

I let out a shuddering breath as I sense the argument coming to a close. I drop my head because I know if I look at him any longer I will cry. Peeta steps forward and tries to place a kiss on my head but I step out the way and wrap my arms around my body. He looks heartbroken but doesn't try to reach out to me again.

"I love you, Katniss. I always have. And this is the right thing to do to keep you and Ava safe. You won't have to worry about it ever again," he says.

I refuse to look at him even though his eyes plead with me to say something, anything to give him hope. But I can't. I have no words for him.

Eventually he gets the hint and sighs before walking out the door. I hear the front door close and I let out a shuddering breath as I finally let the tears fall.

Dad leaves me for a few moments before coming through to check on me. The tear tracks are obvious on my face and he immediately wraps me in his arms. I grip onto the front of his shirt as I sob into it.

"I really thought he would choose Ava over Rye," I sob.

Dad strokes my hair as he lets me fall apart.

"This is worse than when he left the last time," Dad says.

I nod my head and then Dad asks what happened in here. I give him a run down and Dad's expression gets icier as I retell him what happened.

"I don't know what to do now, Dad," I say.

Dad pulls back slightly to look me in the eye.

"Yes, you do. You can't let them get away with it any longer. And if you don't do it, I will," Dad says.

I sniff loudly as I nod my head. I knew what I had to do as soon as I saw Rye in this house. I just hoped that Peeta wouldn't be involved as well.

I wipe my nose with the back of my hand and step out of Dad's grip.

"I can't remember where I put my phone," I say.

Dad gives me a sympathetic smile and then helps me search for it. It doesn't take long to find it and I scroll through my contacts. I hit the call button and press the phone to my ear.

"Darius. I know where Rye is. And I know what he and Peeta are planning…." I begin.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this chapter will probably have conflicting reactions. Some will be mad at Peeta for getting drawn back in and not calling the police while others will be mad at Katniss dobbing him into the police. I think it's a hard situation and both of them both believe what they are doing is right.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

I sit in the kitchen with only the soft glow of the light in the hallway illuminating me. A mug of now lukewarm tea is in my hands as I stare into the darkness. I can't shut my mind off from what is happening not that far away. I play every possible scenario that could happen with Peeta, Rye, Darius and The Careers and I can't envision a good outcome. I thought I had left the days fretting about Peeta behind.

My thoughts are interrupted as the kitchen is suddenly bathed in light. I turn to the door and find my mom, slightly startled, standing there. But the shock soon leaves her eyes and is replaced by concern. She sighs as she moves to the sink to fill a glass with water. She takes a gulp of it before turning back to take a seat next to me.

"You should try to get some rest," she says.

I shake my head.

"I can't sleep. I was never able to the nights before a job," I say.

Mom nods her head sadly and reaches out to give my hand a squeeze. I smile weakly before leaning back in my chair and running a hand through my hair.

"I just feel so stupid," I say with an exasperated sigh. "I actually fell back in love with him again. How can I fall in love with a person I know is bad?"

Mom gives my hand another squeeze.

"I don't think we choose who to fall in love with. And Peeta is not a bad person. He's just done some bad things," she replies.

"You don't need to defend him. Dad was right. I shouldn't have let him back into our lives," I say.

"I think you are being harsh on yourself. You had to try for Ava's shake and before all this, even your dad had been impressed with the changes Peeta made in his life," Mom says.

"That's why it hurts more this time. Because I saw what type of man he could be," I reply.

Mom nods her head.

"Peeta is extremely loyal and it is his best and worst quality. There are just some bonds that are hard to break and unfortunately for Peeta it means he makes some stupid decisions," she says.

I sigh again as I twirl the end of my braid around my finger.

"I really hoped that his bond with Ava would be stronger. But it wasn't enough," I say.

"No. But that doesn't mean he isn't a better person because of you," Mom replies.

I scoff and shake my head. Mom gives me a small smile.

"I was there the first time you met. He came into the diner and couldn't keep his eyes off you. He was cocky then and more than a bit reckless but his charm still shone through. For someone who had never been that interested in boys, you were definitely interested in this one. I don't think I ever saw someone make you smile so quickly," she says.

"His Robert Di Nero impression is a stroke of genius," I say with a small smile.

Mom smiles back at me.

"He was the first person that really saw you. Everyone in this town is linked and we are all described by who we are related to. The Cartwrights are all gossips while the Hawthornes are the quickest to get into a fight. Until Peeta arrived you were only ever seen as Heath's daughter. His mini me that would run about with him in the forest. But Peeta didn't care about that. He saw you as your own person and treated you as one. Even now he sees you as more than Ava's mother. No one else would have got you to spend the day completely independently away from Ava. It's not a surprise to me that you fell in love with him," Mom says.

"You don't judge me then?" I ask.

Mom smiles at me as she squeezes my hand tightly.

"No. And I wish things turned out differently for you," she says.

I smile at her gratefully and we are quiet for a long time. I've spent all of this evening blaming myself for the situation that I'm in now. I don't believe in fate but after listening to Mom, I don't think there is anything I could have done to not fall in love with him again. It was inevitable from the moment he came back.

I sigh as I slump back into my chair.

"I did the right thing calling Darius though?" I ask. "I can't be stuck in this vicious cycle any longer."

Mom nods her head.

"Peeta didn't really leave you any choice. Rye can't keep getting away with things like this any longer," Mom replies.

I nod my head in agreement before the silence returns. Darius is tailing them both as we speak. Him and his team are hoping to catch both Rye and The Careers at the same time but it does leave Peeta caught in the cross fire. He could very well end the night in jail.

"Are you still going to Johanna's tomorrow? I don't know if it's safe for you to drive without any sleep," Mom says.

I shake my head.

"I need to stay here and sees what happens with Peeta. I won't get closure if I run away from it," I reply.

Mom nods her head.

"And if they catch The Careers tonight you and Ava will be safe," Mom adds.

I give her a small smile. We may be safe but we will have lost a lot in the process.

* * *

I think I manage a couple of hours of sleep as exhaustion takes hold but am up before Ava wakes and have to drag her out of bed.

"I don't want to go to school. Daddy's not here to make me a treat for snack time," she whines.

I'm in no mind to tolerate one of her moods and don't look at her as she stands in the kitchen in her pyjamas. I concentrate only on the cutting and slicing for her sandwich.

"We don't know when Daddy will be coming back so you're just going to have to go to school with what I give you," I reply a little briskly.

"But you said we're going to Johanna's," she says.

"Plans have changed. You're going to school instead," I say.

"Why?" she asks.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes before putting down the knife and turning to face her.

"I can't explain why at the moment, bug. I just need you to go to school today. I promise we can do whatever you want afterwards," I say.

Ava stares at me for a long moment. It hurts to look into her eyes. The eyes that are so similar to her father but I promise myself I won't let her see me upset.

"Okay, Mommy," she says. There is a long pause. "But I miss Daddy."

My heart almost breaks at her words and I struggle to keep my emotions off my face. If she's like this after less than a day what is she going to be like if Peeta never comes back?

"I know. I miss him too," I reply.

Ava nods her head but I manage to get her to eat some breakfast and changed for school. She doesn't look back at me as she trudges through the school gates and I worry even more for her.

I go to the diner after dropping Ava off but the place is deserted apart from Haymitch slumped at the counter and Madge wrestling with her boys in a booth. I frown as I enter and go up to question the waitress.

"Has it been like this all morning?" I ask.

The waitress ducks her eyes as she nods her head.

"I think I've done about five orders," she says.

I try not to panic as I scan the near empty diner. Madge catches my eye and leaves the boys squabbling over a toy dinosaur to come over to me. I let out a heavy sigh.

"So I take it people are boycotting here because of Peeta's involvement in Joel's death," I say.

Madge shakes her head.

"The whole town is scared. We don't have crime like that here and people are scared to leave the house. The whole town is ghost town, not just the diner," Madge says.

"Well I'm glad it's not personal," I grunt.

I then walk over to pour Madge some tea. She smiles at me gratefully before taking a sip. I quickly fill her in about what happened last night with Rye and Peeta. Madge's face becomes more sympathetic the longer I talk.

"Do I even want to know what everyone is saying about me and Peeta?" I ask.

There is a grunt as Haymitch picks up his head and wipes his nose with the back of his hand. He sniffs loudly as he turns to look at me.

"The Cartwrights are trying to spread the rumour that Peeta killed Joel himself but even the most ignorant people in this town know Peeta isn't a killer. The Hawthorns, including blondie over there are sticking up for you and Wiress is claiming that is was actually an alien race who want to overtake our town and has barricaded herself in her basement. And people say I'm crazy," Haymitch replies.

"I didn't realise you were such a hot bed for town gossip," I reply.

"You hear a lot when everyone assumes you are passed out at the bar," he replies. "That's how I found out Bristel Jenkins is sneaking money out the till at the General Store and that Vick Hawthorne is seeing some guy in Hob."

"What?" Madge exclaims.

This is clearly news about her brother in law.

"Can you really blame the boy for keeping it quiet? We all know Mason Hawthorne is a man's man. He'll probably try to convince Vick it's just a phase and throw a load of big breasted women in front of him," Haymitch replies.

Madge shakes her head in disbelief.

"Poor Vick. Though it does make sense. We had a half hour conversation last week about how Matt Damon has got better with age," Madge says.

"Matt Damon? Really?" I say raising my eyebrow.

"Did you not see him in that Mars film? I think that was the last time I even went to the movies and I made Gale pretend to be an astronaut in the bedroom afterwards," she says.

I shake my head.

"You and Gale have some interesting foreplay," I say.

"Come on. You must have done some role play. Surely you got Darius at least to put on some handcuffs?" Madge says.

Haymitch stretches his back and rubs his beard.

"May used to put handcuffs on me. I loved a woman in control," he says.

I crinkle my nose in disgust and try to shake the image of Haymitch having sex from my head.

"I've never needed role play to get myself off," I reply.

I share a grin with Madge and but the smile drops off her face as she looks sadly at me.

"Sorry. You must be having a hard time right now and I'm making stupid conversations about role play and Matt Damon," she says.

I shake my head at her.

"Don't apologise. I can't talk about it any longer. I just need a distraction from it all. Please carry on talking about Matt Damon," I reply.

Madge studies me for a moment to check that I mean it but slowly a smile spreads across her face.

"I did buy Gale the latest Jason Bourne film on DVD but that was mainly so I could fantasise about Matt Damon while he enjoyed the car chases," she says.

I smile back at her and enjoy the momentarily respite from the Peeta drama as Madge talks in great detail about all of Matt Damon's attractive features.

* * *

Only a handful of people come into the diner for the rest of the day and I use it as an excuse to lock myself in the office to complete paperwork. However, I spend every couple of minutes checking my phone. Checking to see if I have a call or message from either Peeta or Darius. But my phone stays silent and my apprehension grows as the day drags on.

The feeling of foreboding comes with me as I go to pick up Ava from school and notice the huddles of parents standing even closer than usual. Some parents shrink away from me as I walk past while others don't even try to hide the fact they are staring at me. Delly is the boldest of the lot and breaks away from the pack to approach me. She gets straight to the point once she has stopped in front of me.

"No one has seen or heard from Peeta since Joel was found. Is it true he's in police custody?" she asks.

I wrap my arms around my chest. The truth is that I don't know where he is. He could be in police custody, just not for the crime that Delly thinks. The not knowing is what is killing me and I know that the nauseous feeling in my stomach won't disappear until I know one way or another.

"Peeta's not a suspect in Joel's death. The police have taken his statement about how he found him and that's it," I reply.

"So where is he then? Rooba went round to his apartment but got no answer. Is he even still in Seam?" she asks.

"I don't know where he is, Delly," I say, staring straight into her eyes. "And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't spread untrue gossip about town. You've already upset Ava once and I don't think it's fair for her to hear bad things about her dad before we find out the truth."

Delly takes a step back and ducks her head and I become aware of the many of pairs of eyes on us. I turn to face them all.

"I am the best person to tell my daughter what is happening. Talk about Peeta all you want behind closed doors. He's not my favourite person right now either but leave Ava out of it," I say.

More people bow their heads and some people looked ashamed. I spend a few more moments scanning the crowd before holding my head high and walking closer to the school doors. I understand the town's desire to gossip and if I wasn't directly involved I would probably be gossiping just as much as they are. But I have a daughter to protect and I won't let the gossips affect her.

An uncomfortable silence falls in the playground and only a few people try to force conversation about the mundane stuff as we wait for the bell to ring. Eventually it does and the kids come bursting through the door. The childish delight that rushes that follows breaks the tension in the playground and I strain my neck to catch a glimpse of my daughter.

Ava is near the back of the line and she stops hesitantly at the door as she searches the playground. I smile brightly and wave at her when she catches my eye but her face falls. She kicks at the ground as she makes her way towards me. I bend down to greet her and tip her chin up to look at me.

"Hey. What's wrong, bug?" I ask.

Ava sighs as she continues to scuff her shoes against the ground.

"I thought Daddy would be back to pick me up," she says.

I pull her in for a tight hug and rub a soothing hand on her back.

"I told you I don't know when Daddy will be back. It could be a long time," I say.

Ava nods her head sadly and pulls back slightly. I try to stay positive as I smile at her and brush back some hair.

"But I did promise that we can do anything you want after school. We could go to the park, go swimming, ride your bike. You pick," I say.

Ava twirls her braid around her finger as she contemplates my offer.

"I just want to draw. I want to give Daddy a picture when he gets back," she says.

I force a smile as I nod my head and then stand up to take her hand. I try to ask Ava about what she did at school but she tells me she can't remember. As we walk back to the car I realise just how much Peeta's leaving has affected her.

Ava dumps her school bag on the floor and wanders into the kitchen to get paper and her colouring pencils. Mom is busy baking something in there and she turns to Ava with a smile.

"Hello, Ava. How was school? I'm making chocolate cake. Do you want to lick the spoon?" she asks.

Ava shakes her head as she pulls a blank piece of paper in front of her.

"it's not as good as Daddy's cake," she says before bending her head and concentrating hard on her drawing.

Mom raises an eyebrow at me and I let out a sigh. She puts the cake in the oven while I take a seat next to Ava. I grab a pencil but know I am nowhere near as good as Peeta at this. I gently nudge Ava to get her attention.

"You need to show me how to draw people. I can only draw stick people," I say.

"It's easy, Mommy. Watch," she says.

I then look carefully as she quickly assembles shapes to make a person. I try to copy along with her but her silence throughout the process unnerves me. Normally she would be talking my ear off and laughing when I got things wrong. But she barely looks at me as she draws.

Eventually I draw a passable person and decide to draw a picture of Ava with Buttercup. Ava hunches over her picture and spends a lot of time trying to get it right. I try to peek a look but her arms hide the image. Finally, she pulls back and smiles at me. I lean over to get a closer look.

"I drew Daddy teaching me how to bake a cake. And look, Mommy. That's you sitting at the side eating it," she says.

I laugh when I see the picture of me with a massive slice of chocolate cake and crumbs smeared across my face. She's really added a lot of detail, from the pattern of the wallpaper to her and Peeta's matching aprons with their names on them. I lean forward to place a kiss on her head.

"It's great, bug. It may be my new favourite," I say.

Ava smiles proudly at me.

"Do you think Daddy will like it? We've been learning about families at school and Miss Trinkett wants us to draw a picture of our family. I want Daddy to help me and make it even better than this one!" Ava exclaims.

I have to gulp down a tear and pull Ava in closer to me. It always comes back to him. She is going to keep asking and asking about him until I give her answers. But I'm not sure if I can give her the answers she wants.

She continues to babble on about Peeta and all the things she wants to do with him and the tears threaten to bubble over again. I have to push back my chair abruptly and leave the room before she sees.

I burst into the hallway and collapse against the wall before the first tears fall from my eyes. It's too hard to hear her talk about how much she loves him when I know he's let her down again. I cry for the heartbreak I know she will have when he doesn't come back and I cry for myself for not getting to have the image Ava drew of us in the kitchen.

I'm not sure how long I am left alone but Mom eventually comes out of the kitchen and pulls me into her arms.

"You are allowed to cry," she says. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

I sniff loudly as I squeeze her tight.

"But I need to be strong in front of Ava. She needs me to be once everything has happened," I say.

Mom pulls back slightly and wipes some of my tears away.

"We still don't know what has happened yet. And if you try to keep everything bottled it up, it will only be worse for Ava," she says.

I nod my head.

"I hate him. She needs him but he didn't think about that when he left. He's left me to deal with the fallout," I sniff.

"I know. But your dad and I are here to help you. You don't need to deal with this alone. Just tell us what you need and we'll do it," she says.

I give her a watery smile as I wipe some of my tears away.

"Can you build a time machine and take me back to the day I met him?" I reply.

Mom gives me a small smile and brushes some of my hair back.

"You don't really mean that," she says.

I hang and shake my head.

"No. Ava is the best thing to ever happen to me and she wouldn't be here without him. I just wish there was a way for women to reproduce without men," I say.

Mom actually laughs at that.

"You will probably win the noble prize if you manage that," she says.

I manage a smile and Mom reaches out to clear the last tear away from my cheek.

"Let your dad and I look after Ava. You need to take a long soapy bath, put on some clean pyjamas and eat cookie dough. Tomorrow is a new day and it may even be a bit better," she says.

I smile again at her.

"Thanks, Mom," I say.

I pull her in for another hug before taking her advice and head upstairs for that bath.

I didn't think I would be able to zone out in the bath but I put on some relaxing music and am able to transport myself to a colourful meadow where no one can disturb me.

I inhale the fresh scent of my new pyjamas and snuggle into my bed with a laptop to watch something crappy on Netflix. A couple of episodes into the oddball comedy and I even manage to laugh a few times. But I am broken out of my reverie by the buzzing of my phone. I snap my head down to look at the caller ID and freeze when I see Darius' name flash up on screen.

I place down the chocolate bar I am eating and tentatively pick up my phone. I stare at it for a few seconds as I gain the courage to answer it.

"Hello," I say cautiously.

My heart pounds at the rate of nots and the nauseous feeling comes roaring back.

"Hi, Katniss," Darius replies.

I don't like the tone of his voice. He sounds exhausted and defeated.

"What's happened?" I ask.

I clutch the phone so tightly to my ear that my knuckles go white and I feel my body begin to shake.

"We managed to get The Careers and even some money linking them to the last bank robbery. We're holding them right now. You and Ava are safe," he says.

I should be relieved at this news but I can sense he has more to say. My hand begins to shake uncontrollably.

"And Peeta?" I ask.

I hold my breath as I wait for an answer. Darius hesitates before speaking.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. We caught him too," he replies.

* * *

 **A/N: I warned some people things would get worse before they get better. Peeta's haste has got him in trouble and it will take a while to sort things out.**

 **I hope everyone is still enjoying it!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12_

It is after midnight when Darius arrives as my parents' house. The details were still a bit sketchy when I talked to him on the phone and he promised to stop by once he was done at the police station. He looks exhausted and pale when he enters and his hands greedily cup around the mug of coffee I make him.

"I don't want to have too many more days like today. There was a reason I requested being sent to a small town. I'm much better equipped at dealing with Wiress' stolen gnomes," he says.

I give him a small smile as I slide into the seat next to him but am eager for answers. I sit up straight as I look at him expectedly.

"What happened?" I ask.

Darius sighs as he slumps back in his chair and turns back to look at me.

"We were able to pick up Rye's car before it left Seam. We followed them all the way to this abandoned warehouse. We set up watch and Rye and Peeta took it in turns to scout the place out. There was no sign of The Careers at this point. We just had to sit and wait for them to make their move," he begins.

"None of them suspected that you guys were there?" I ask.

Darius shakes his head.

"We were lucky. A water tower was nearby and we hid in that and it gave us the perfect view of what they were doing," Darius says.

I nod my head and then Darius sighs heavily again.

"Everything then all started so quickly. We saw Peeta and Rye disappear into the warehouse and the next thing there were gunshots and lots of shouting. I was being pushed down the water tower and thrown a Kevlar vest. Back up was called and a police perimeter was set up around the warehouse in ten minutes. The SWAT team went in and I hid behind a police car door, my hand shaking and hoping I wouldn't have to fire the gun in my hand. There were more gunshots and then one of The Careers tried to flee. He was quickly wrapped up by our guys and stuffed in the back of a police car. Peeta and the second Career were dragged out not long after," he says.

"But Peeta's okay? He wasn't hurt?" I ask.

My heart rate has increased again and the nauseous feeling is worse than ever. Even after everything I can't handle him being hurt.

Darius shakes his head.

"Cato was hit in the arm but it's just a flesh wound. It was the walls that suffered the most damage," he says.

I let out a sigh of relief and sit back slightly in my chair. But there is still tension in my body. Peeta may not be in hospital but he's still in jail.

"What about Rye?" I ask.

Darius hesitates before answering and looks at me regretfully.

"He escaped in the chaos when the SWAT team entered. We had a hit out for his car but it was found abandoned just outside Hob. We're trying to track him down," Darius says.

I shake my head in annoyance. Of course Rye got away. He has more lives than a cat. And he probably didn't think about his baby brother once while he fled to save his own skin. I turn back to face Darius.

"What does all this mean for Peeta? What charges are you holding him for?" I ask.

"Possession of a loaded illegal firearm as well as the possession of cocaine found in his backpack. He's looking at fifteen years plus in prison," Darius says.

All the air is knocked out of my body and I grip the edge of the table to steady myself. I try to take deep breaths as I remind myself how to breathe. I begin shaking my head.

"This is all because of Rye. Peeta is not the bad guy," I say.

"No, Peeta isn't the bad guy," Darius says with a sad look. "And the DA office know that. I'm pretty sure they will offer Peeta a deal in return for giving up Rye. But you and I both know he's unlikely to take it."

I nod my head. Peeta won't give up his brother. Even to save himself. His stupid loyalty gets in the way again.

I spend a long moment staring into the space in front of me as I try to wrap my head around everything that has happened. There is a dull ache in my heart and I don't know what to do next.

"Can I see him?" I ask, turning back to face Darius.

He nods his head.

"If you really want to. He should be allowed visitors later in the day," he says.

I nod my head as I try to figure out if I'm relieved or angry at getting to see him.

"What do you think you will say to him?" Darius asks.

"I don't know. I may just end up shouting at him. I just know that if Ava and I are ever to move on from this, I need to see him," I say.

Darius gives me a sympathetic smile and reaches out to give my hand a squeeze. I smile at him gratefully and let him run his thumb over my knuckles. It feels nice to have him comforting me. After a long quiet moment I pull my hand back and slump into my chair.

"How do I explain this to Ava?" I sigh. "She kept asking about him today. I think it will be the same later. I don't know if I can lie to her."

"Then don't. Just tell her that her daddy got in trouble yesterday and is now in jail. It's going to hurt her like hell but it's better to come from you than one of the moms in the playground. You know this town can't keep a secret," Darius says.

I nod my head.

"I can talk to her after if you want. Explain any questions she has about jail and the police," he says.

"Thank you," I smile gratefully at him. "It has to get better after this, right? I can't handle any more heartache."

Darius smiles at me sadly before pulling me in for a hug. I cling to him as tightly as possible and screw my eyes shut to stop the tears from falling.

"You're going to be alright, Katniss. You just have to believe that," Darius says.

* * *

Darius stays for a little while longer as he explains how they found the address of Joel's bakery and a roll of the wire used to kill him in the possession of The Careers. That evidence along with some bank notes from the last bank robbery will be enough to send them away for murder and bank robbery for at least thirty years. At least there is one small silver lining from all this.

I manage to sleep in quite late as the emotional exhaustion takes hold and I fall into a deep sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. I wake to the smell of bacon wafting up the stairs and my stomach grumbles as a result. I realise I haven't eaten anything other than a chocolate bar since breakfast yesterday.

I wrap my dressing gown tightly around me and follow my nose to the kitchen. Mom stands by the grill as she flips and serves up bacon while Ava dances around my dad as he plays _Frozen_ songs out of his phone.

Ava beams at me as I enter and sticks her hands up into the air.

"Look, Mommy! I can do a cartwheel!" she declares.

She then sticks her tongue out as she concentrates and gees herself up for the gymnastics move. She rocks for a few moments and then finally places her hands on the ground to perform the cartwheel. She wobbles slightly as she does it and almost loses her balance but she manages to steady herself to complete a rather ugly looking cartwheel.

"Ta da!" she exclaims.

I can't stop the smile forming on my face and I go around to bend and give her a kiss.

"Wow. I didn't know you could do that. You must have been practising hard," I say.

Ava nods her head enthusiastically.

"I did, Mommy. I'm going to be the best by the time Daddy gets back," she says.

I force a smile but am reminded about the conversation I have to have with her today. At least this morning she doesn't seem upset that Peeta isn't here but I know that will change by the end of the day.

"Grandpa says that I don't have to go to school today because I was feeling sad about Daddy. He said we can go swimming instead!" Ava says.

I turn to my dad and raise an eyebrow.

"Grandpa said that, did he?" I ask.

He and Mom share a look before he shrugs a shoulder. I come closer so we can speak out of earshot of Ava.

"I thought after what happened last night you wouldn't want her around people talking about Peeta. And the delight of no school has distracted her from asking questions about him," Dad replies.

I nod my head.

"You made the right decision. I just have to figure out the best way to tell her myself," I say.

Dad nods his head.

"My advice is that you let her have a normal day. Take her swimming, make pizza and watch _Frozen_. Then tell her. Let her be happy for a little bit longer," he says.

I nod my head in agreement before turning to look back at my daughter. She continues to twirl about the kitchen and even sneaks a bit of bacon off one of the plates. Dad is right. She is happy for now. I can let her be happy for a couple more hours.

I take Dad's advice and take Ava swimming at the Donners' indoor pool. I even forget about Peeta for a few moments as she jumps and splashes about. Life is just always that bit simpler when it is just me and my daughter.

However, when we get back home we find Delly standing on the doorstep. Ava grips onto my hand tightly and glares at Delly as we approach.

"I don't like Delly, Mommy. She is mean about Daddy," Ava says.

I nod my head and brace myself for Delly's latest rampage. I just hope I can get Ava into the house before she starts spewing hateful things about Peeta.

However, as we approach, I realise that Delly doesn't have a look of anger on her face but one of sympathy. She even clutches what looks like a casserole dish in her hands. When Ava and I stop, Delly surprises me by reaching out to gently touch my arm.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. Of course we all heard what happened this morning and Thom made me see that I was very unfair on you," she says.

I frown a little as I try to decipher if she is genuine or not. But she continues to smile at me sympathetically and I think I see an apology in her eyes.

"Thank you, Delly," I say, taking the casserole off her.

I then reach for my keys and look down at Ava.

"Ava, you run into the house and find Grandma. I'll speak with Delly for a little bit," I say.

Ava looks up warily at Delly but does nod her head before slipping through the door once I've opened it. Delly turns to watch her go and then looks back to me.

"I'm sorry about what she overheard me saying. I didn't mean to upset her. My mouth gets away from me sometimes," she says.

"She doesn't like you now, just so you know," I say.

Delly laughs and shakes her head.

"That's fair enough. I'll try to win her over with free cakes at the next school bake sale," Delly says.

"She'll just say they won't be as good as Peeta's," I say.

Delly laughs but soon looks serious again.

"I heard what you did, Katniss. That you told Darius Rye was back in town and got him to follow them. That must have been a hard decision for you but it means Joel's killers will get behind bars. Everyone in town is grateful for you," she says.

"I did what was right," I reply.

Delly nods her head.

"I'm sorry it means Peeta is now in jail," she says.

I scoff.

"That's where you wanted him the moment he came back," I say.

"Maybe. And I needed someone to blame when Joel died but he wasn't all bad. Plus, he made really good cakes," she says with a grin.

I chuckle lightly.

"I really am sorry about what happened. And I'll try really hard not to spread gossip around," she says.

"I appreciate your apology, Delly," I say.

She smiles at me and reaches out to touch my arm again.

"Enjoy the casserole. Put it in at 180 and leave for thirty minutes," she says.

"Will do," I reply.

Delly lets out a sigh of relief and then steps in to give me a hug. She says goodbye once she's pulled back and I turn to give her a wave. Once she's out of sight I turn to enter the house.

I hand Mom the casserole and notice that she has three others stacked on the counter.

"Who are all these from?" I ask.

"One each from Rooba and the Crays. And Prim dropped this one in. She wanted to wait for you to come back but Jacob has really bad croup and she had to take him home," Mom says.

I nod my head and make a note to call Prim later. I then look at the casseroles on the counter and shake my head.

"Yesterday they all hated us," I say.

"You know how quickly opinion can turn in this town. I just hope we have enough room in the freezer," Mom says.

I smile as I take an apple and then go and join Ava in the living room. We watch _Frozen_ for the hundredth time and Ava snuggles into me as she sings all the songs as loudly as possible. I try to enjoy the film too but can't stop thinking about the conversation I have to have with her once it is finished. I run through various versions of it in my head but the prospect of it doesn't get any easier.

Eventually the credits roll and I turn the TV off to get Ava's full attention.

"I have something important to tell you," I begin.

Ava shifts round so she is sitting on her knees and looking at me.

"Is it about Daddy?" she asks eagerly.

I nod my head sadly as I reach out to brush a curl away.

"Yes. But it's not good news, bug," I say.

Ava frowns at me and I feel my heart cracking.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Daddy got in trouble last night. He had something he shouldn't have had and the police caught him with it. He's in jail now," I say.

Ava pulls back from me and curls into the other end of the sofa. Her frown gets even deeper and she wraps her arms around her legs.

"Daddy's in jail? Will he be there forever?" she asks.

"I don't know. The police are trying to work it out at the moment. But it could be for a very long time," I reply.

Ava is quiet for a long moment and I'm not sure if it's the time to go and comfort her. I can see the confusion and sadness cross over her little face and wish I could take it away. Eventually she looks up at me again.

"Why did Daddy do it if he knew he would go to jail?" she asks.

I do move closer to her now. I pull her into me and look her straight in the eye.

"Daddy was trying to get revenge on the people that hurt Joel at the bakery. But he did it the wrong way," I say.

Ava's bottom lip begins to tremble and I pull her in for a tight hug.

"I love you, bug. I'm so sorry about Daddy," I say.

Ava clings onto me tightly as the tears start to fall. The crack gets wider in my heart and fills with her pain. It doesn't take long for me to feel the first tear slip down my cheek and drop onto her shoulder.

* * *

Ava has a few more questions about Peeta and I do my best to answer them but realise half way through that I don't have all the answers. I decide to take Darius' offer to help and he comes by to answer all the things I can't. Eventually it ends with her crawling into Darius' lap and falling fast asleep. Darius strokes her hair as we both watch her even breathing.

"It may not feel like it, but you did well," Darius says.

"I'm just worried how she is going to act tomorrow. It's already been hard enough as it is," I say.

Darius nods her head.

"You have lots of people to help you. Everyone wants what is best for you and Ava," he says.

I nod my head and silence falls between us. I'm not sure if I have any words left to speak and it's nice knowing Darius won't force me to talk anymore.

"I was right. The DA do want to give Peeta a deal," he says.

I snap my head around to him.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes. And it's a good one. A $5000 dollar fine, two years probation and one hundred hours community service. No jail time," he says.

"But only if he gives up Rye?" I say.

Darius nods his head.

"We've located Rye but we don't have anything to charge him with. We have no proof he was doing anything illegal at the warehouse. The DA want confirmation of his involvement there and the bank robberies he has committed throughout the state. Peeta can give them that information," Darius says.

"But he won't," I say.

"No. He's refused even though his lawyer is all but ordering him to take it," Darius says.

"Neither of us are surprised," I say.

I look out the window and curse Peeta for his loyalty. His relationship with Rye has always been the one area he was predictable.

"You're the only one that can convince him to take the deal, Katniss," Darius says.

I snap my head back around to him.

"Shouldn't you be warning me away from Peeta? Shouldn't you be telling me that I shouldn't have criminals around Ava?" I say.

"Peeta was never the real criminal. All he has asked about since he got arrested is about you and Ava. He loves you both so much and if he takes the deal Rye will be behind bars. Peeta will be ready to live a normal life," Darius says.

"If he really loved us he would have taken the deal already," I state.

Darius shifts Ava slightly in his arms so he can lean in closer to me.

"You just need to show him what he would be giving up. If you convince him then three genuinely bad guys will be in prison and Ava will get her dad back. You need to at least try, Katniss," Darius pleads.

I look at him for a long time. I don't know what the right thing is to do. But then my eyes drop down to Ava and I remember how much she's missed Peeta these last couple of days. I have to try to convince Peeta. For her. She deserves a chance to have her daddy back.

Slowly I look back at Darius.

"Okay. I'll do it," I say.

* * *

We leave Ava with my parents while Darius takes me to the station where they are currently holding Peeta. I'm patted down and searched before I enter and I drum my fingers nervously as I wait for them to bring him to the small grey room I am sitting in. There must be something faulty in the light above me as the bare lightbulb keeps flickering and this only puts me more on edge.

I'm not ready for the sight of him in handcuffs as he enters the room. Seeing the cuffs makes the reality come crashing home and I realise what a desperate situation we're in.

He's still in the clothes he wore the last time I saw him and the stubble is heavier on his chin. He looks tired, with huge bags under his eyes but he looks at me earnestly once he's taken a seat.

"How's Ava? Is she okay?" he asks straight away.

"She misses her daddy. She asks about you all the time," I reply.

"Did you tell her I'm in here?" he asks.

I nod my head.

"She deserves the truth. Though she is very confused. I'm not sure she's really grasped what it all means," I say.

Peeta hangs his head as he nods it sadly.

"At least she's safe," he replies.

I shake my head fiercely at his words. All my earlier anger towards him comes roaring back.

"And she would have been safe if you had just told the police about the warehouse in the first place. And then you wouldn't have ended up here," I exclaim.

"I did what I thought was best. There was no guarantee there would have been evidence of Joel's murder at the warehouse," he replies.

I let out an exasperated sigh as I lean back in my chair.

"I'm not having this argument again. It's done now. But you can still make things right," I say.

Peeta looks up and stares at me silently for a long moment.

"They told you about the deal the DA are offering me," he states.

"Of course they did. You have done a lot of stupid things in your life but rejecting this deal may be the stupidest thing yet," I say.

Peeta huffs as he clenches his fists in the cuffs.

"I can't betray my brother. He took beatings for me as a kid. Gave me his meals when we were starving at home. He gave me a safe place to live. I owe him so much. You know that," he says.

"But he put you in here. If the situation was reversed how do you know he wouldn't hand you over?" I say.

Peeta sighs and shakes his head

"You don't know him like I do. This is just something I have to do," Peeta replies. "You can either accept it or not."

I shake my head sadly at him.

"So you're just going to give up your daughter? Because if you reject this deal you will never see her again. I won't bring her to see you in jail and by the time you get out she's going to be a fully grown adult living her life somewhere without you. She'll have forgotten all about you, Peeta. Maybe even hate you a little for what you did. That's what you will be giving up, Peeta. Not your freedom, a life with Ava," I say.

He looks up at me pained and my heart hammers in my chest. Now I'm here I realise just how much I want him to come back. I don't want Ava to grow up without him.

"Have you thought that maybe it's better for her for me to be in here? I tried coming back and being good for her but I just put her in danger again," he says.

I reach out and grab hold of one of his hands. He looks startled as I grasp onto it tightly.

"I don't believe that. You're not a bad person, Peeta Mellark. And you have been a great dad these last few months. Ava needs you now. Please. Take the deal for her," I plead.

I stare deep into his eyes and desperately try to convince him. He keeps hold of my stare for a long time but eventually tugs his hand out of my grip and turns away from me.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I can't," he states.

He then pushes back his chair and knocks on the door to be let out. I'm left alone with a gaping hole in my heart.

* * *

 **A/N: I know! Another rough one but I promise the happy ending is coming soon. Only 2 more chapters left until the epilogue.**


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

I don't move from the police room for a while. Tears fall silently down my cheeks and I wipe them away roughly with the back of my hand. I am so sick of crying over him. I take a few deep breaths as I wipe the last of the tears away and re-do my frayed braid. I take one more moment to re-compose myself before standing up and leaving to face the world again.

Darius waits for me on the other side of the door and gives me a sympathetic look, but I shake my head to stop him.

"Don't give me that look. I'm so sick of people looking at me in that way. I'm so sick of people's pity. It's worst when it comes with a head tilt," I say.

Darius puts his hands up in defence.

"Sorry. I didn't realise I was doing it so much," he replies.

I sigh as go over to him.

"I know you only do it because you care. But I think there can be a thing as too much sympathy," I say.

Darius smiles and nods his head. There is a short pause as he waits to see if I will say anything.

"Do you want to talk about what happened in there?" he asks.

I let out another loud sigh as I lean back against the wall.

"What can I say? He's not going to take the deal. He'd rather be in jail than with Ava," I reply.

"You know that's not true. Maybe he just needs to sleep on it. He has until the end of tomorrow to accept it. It's amazing what a long night in a cold cell can do to your perspective," he says.

"You have more faith in him than I do. But thank you for being hopeful," I say.

Darius gives me a small smile but then he is called away by one of the senior detectives. He gives me a brief hug before I turn and leave the police station.

I'm drained when I get back to my parents' house and feel a little numb. There is very little I can do now to help the situation and I can feel the acceptance that Peeta will go to prison setting in.

Mom is knitting when I enter the living room and Dad sits cleaning his fish hooks. My eyes quickly scan the room for any signs of Ava.

"Where's Ava?" I ask.

Dad puts down his fishing hooks and sinks back into his chair.

"In bed. The poor little bug was exhausted. There were a few tears before she settled down," he says.

I nod my head sadly.

"I know how she feels," I reply.

Dad smiles at me and the studies me carefully. My despondent expression and slumped shoulders tell him everything he needs to know.

"He didn't take the deal," he states.

I shake my head. Dad sighs as he nods his head.

"Part of me is relieved. This has just proven he's not a good enough father for Ava," he says.

"Heath…" Mom warns.

But Dad just shakes his head.

"I've always made my feelings towards Peeta clear. He is not the father who I would have chosen for Ava," he replies.

"But you didn't get to choose him, Dad. I did. And maybe it wasn't the right one but it's what happened. And I can't regret it. Because Peeta does love her," I say.

Dad and I stare at each other for a few moments but he doesn't say anything else. The one shred of hope I have left is the knowledge that Peeta does love his daughter. One of the reasons he won't take the deal is because he thinks it's safe for Ava if he's locked away. He has many faults but loving her in not one of them.

Eventually I let out a tired sigh and turn to go upstairs.

"I'm going to check in on Ava. I'll probably go to bed after. Goodnight," I say.

Mom and Dad say goodnight too and I exit the room so I can trudge up the stairs.

I gently push the door of Ava's room, being careful not to wake her. I peek around the door and spy her snuggled in her blankets. Lady, the goat, is tucked firmly under her arm and she looks almost peaceful. I smile at the sight before opening the door wider and tiptoeing into her room. I lie down on the edge of the bed and reach out to brush some of her hair back.

"I wish that you could stay asleep forever. That way you can dream about a place where your daddy is always there. You can stay there and play with him and me forever," I whisper.

Ava doesn't stir and continues to snooze lightly. The numbness in my body begins to lift as my love for Ava fills my heart, but the sadness follows soon after as I remember what she has to face tomorrow.

I curl my body protectively around her and place a kiss on her head.

"I'm so sorry, bug. I wish your daddy wasn't so damn loyal," I say.

Ava moves a little in her sleep but still doesn't wake. I continue to hold her tight until I join her in dreamland.

* * *

I'm woken the next day by someone kicking my legs and I peel my eyes open to spy the owner of them. Ava looks at me curiously as she tilts her head to one side.

"What are you doing in my bed, Mommy?" she asks.

I yawn and stretch as I roll onto my back. I then reach out to brush away one of Ava's unruly curls.

"I thought we could have a sleepover but you were already asleep. And then I was so tired I fell asleep in your bed anyway," I say.

Ava nods her head.

"Grandma says you saw Daddy last night. Can I go and see him?" she asks.

I shake my head sadly at her.

"No, bug. Daddy doesn't want you to see him in jail," I reply.

"But I have a picture for him. And I want to tell him about the show Miss Trinkett said we're going to do," Ava say.

"I know but you still can't go. Jail isn't a nice place for little girls to go. I can give Daddy your picture and help you write a letter to him about the show. How about that instead?" I ask

Ava drops her head but does nod.

"Okay," she replies.

I pull her towards me and give her a big hug.

"I love you," I say.

"I love you too, Mommy," she mumbles.

We get up for breakfast soon after and I make the decision to send Ava back to school. She needs to get back into a routine as soon as possible and I hope that her friends will distract her for a little while today. I'm still nervous about it though as I drop her off and ask to speak to her teacher at the door. Miss Trinkett smiles at me a bit too sweetly as I take her to one side.

"You probably heard what happened with her Dad a couple of days ago. I want her to get back to normal as soon as possible but can you please keep an eye out for her? If she's getting too upset you can call me and I'll come and pick her up straight away," I say.

Miss Trinkett gives me the classic sympathetic smile and head tilt. She even reaches out to touch my arm.

"Of course. We'll do everything we can to help her," she says.

I smile and say thanks before Miss Trinkett walks back to the classroom. I crane my neck to look through the window to check on Ava. She puts away her jacket and bag quietly but one of her friends soon comes up to her and shows her some new toy. Ava looks at the toy for a long moment and then her friend drags her to another area of the classroom. I let put a sigh of relief and hope she will be okay.

* * *

I'm on my way to the diner when a news bulletin blares out through the radio.

" _Could the great Panem bank robberies finally be over? In the last nine years over fifty bank branches have been targeted, some on multiple occasions, but it seems that the main culprits have been caught. Andrew Marvel, Cato Jenkins and Peeta Mellark were all arrested a couple of days ago and are thought to be charged with these crimes. Speaking on the streets of Hob today, there was a lot of relief," the news reporter states._

" _I think we should have the death penalty for crime like this. They terrorised us for years and I feared for my life every time I went into a bank…" a resident of Hob says._

I reach to switch the radio off. That townsperson's reaction may have been a bit extreme but I can't deny that their fears were unwarranted. It is sometimes easy to forget the horrors these bank robberies caused people.

I suddenly find myself missing the turn for the diner and driving towards the road out of town. I end up on the road that leads to Hob.

I'm not sure what possesses me to go there but as I get nearer the edge of town I get a desperate urge to go there and see where Peeta grew up. Maybe it will help me understand how he got himself in this mess in the first place.

I don't really think of much as I head towards Hob and the grey buildings soon loom in the distance. It is a much bigger town than Seam and has a large shopping mall that we come to whenever the General Store can't provide us with what we need. It's not prosperous though. The majority of its population are miners and soot and grime cling to every building. There is a lot of vandalism on the walls and emergency service sirens can often be heard wailing somewhere not that far away. I'm a little more wary as I drive into the town and seek out the address of Peeta's childhood home.

I'm not sure of the exact number but find the block of apartments easily. Peeta never took me here but had plenty of stories about life here.

I park the car and look up at the crumbling building. Many of the windows are boarded up or broken and some even have bars on them. Not even weeds grow in the concrete wasteland in front of the apartment block and there is a strong smell of weed in the air. I shrink back into my car, wondering how anyone comes out of here alive.

Seeing makes me understand how difficult it must have been to thrive here. It's easy to see how someone would turn to crime to try and get out. It just doesn't explain why Peeta would want to go to jail having finally escaped from here.

I'm not sure coming here has made me feel any better and I reach out to turn the key in the ignition. But as I do so, I catch a glimpse of something blond moving towards the apartment entrance. My first thought is Peeta until I remember how stupid that thought is. As my eyes finally focus in on the figure I realise it's not Peeta but someone who looks a lot like him. Rye.

I jump out the car and chase after him without even thinking.

"Rye!" I call across.

He stops and turns around with a quizzical look. This look soon changes to a glare as he turns, ready to bolt away from me.

"Don't run away from me!" I yell.

I then put my head down and run as fast as I can towards the door. Rye fumbles with the keys but eventually gets the door open. My desperation to catch up with him spurs me on and with one last spurt, I rush out to him and wedge my arm through the door.

Rye tries to shake me out but I'm deceptively strong and wedge my body further inside.

"I've not brought the police with me. They don't have anything to charge you with anyway," I say.

Rye shakes his head.

"So they have sent you with a wire to trick me into confession? Not a fucking chance," he says.

He tries to jam the door shut but I fight back.

"Please, Rye. I need to talk to you about Peeta," I say.

Rye stops trying to jam the door at the mention of Peeta's name. He stares at me for a long moment and I plead with him to let me in. Maybe there is another way I can help Peeta.

After what seems like ages Rye reluctantly pulls the door back and lets me in.

"Come inside. It's safer to talk in there," he says.

I nod my head and wrap my arms around my body as I follow him up the flight of stairs. The walls are filled with graffiti, stating things like " _Fuck off"_ and _"All whores should die"._ I have to side step some orange vomit that looks like it has been there a few days but Rye eventually takes me into an apartment near the top of the building.

He throws the keys down on a rusting metal table before going to the fridge and taking out a beer.

"Welcome to home, sweetheart," he says.

"This is where you grew up?" I ask.

The place is tiny. The kitchen and living area is barely bigger than the bathroom in my parents' house. There are two bedrooms off to the side and one room has two single mattresses squished between the walls.

Rye smirks at me.

"Not exactly what you're used to, is it, princess. I don't spend much time here now either. But since Mom died I like to come back and remember how far I've come," he says.

"I can't even imagine what it would be like to live here," I admit.

"I don't need your sympathy. I made the best of a bad situation and I'm doing pretty well now," he replies.

I shake my head.

"By stealing," I say.

"Don't get on your moral high horse. It may have convinced Peeta to give it all up, but it won't work on me," he says.

I sigh and shake my head again.

"Do you even care that he's in prison now? That he's in prison because of you?" I say.

Anger flashes in Rye's eyes and he takes a forceful step towards me. I brace myself against the grimy wall as he points the bottle of beer in my face.

"Peeta knew what he was doing. He told me to run while he distracted your police buddies. You're the one that called the cops on us. If it's anyone fault, it's yours," he sneers.

"You gave me no choice," I reply.

Rye laughs and takes a step back as he shakes his head.

"And what do you want from me now, Katniss? I can't do anything for him. Not in there. I've paid the lawyer but you and I both know that's not going to be enough," he replies.

I'm a little stunned by Rye's revelation that he paid for a lawyer. I thought he would want to distance himself from this as much as possible.

"I know you blame me for everything that went wrong in Peeta's life, but the truth is that I've been protecting him from the moment he was born. See this scar?" Rye says lifting up his shirt to show a long jagged scar across his chest. "I got this after Peeta smashed a bottle of Mom's booze. I took the blame so my baby brother didn't bleed. I made sure to flush the drugs down the toilet when he brought them home during high school. Peeta's alive because of me."

"And his price is to spend the next fifteen years in jail? If you protect him like you say you do, do it now. You can get him out by handing yourself in," I say.

Rye scoffs and shakes his head.

"So he gets to live happily ever after with you and that little brat? No. You don't get to take him away from me twice," Rye replies.

"So you're not going to help him because you're jealous of me? You say nothing and you don't get him anyway. Either way you lose him. But at least by turning yourself in, he can be happy," I plead.

"You don't get to decide what makes him happy," Rye replies.

I look at him in shock. There's no reasoning with him. He and Peeta are frustrating similar in that way.

"I think you should leave," he states.

He continues to look at me coldly and clenches his jaw. I know a losing battle when I see one. I bow my head and leave even more disheartened.

* * *

I slump into my car and put my head on the steering wheel. I let out a scream of frustration and wish the Mellark men were less stubborn. I bang the steering wheel a couple of times but am interrupted by the ringing of my phone. I sit up and take a deep breath before reaching to answer it. It's Ava's school.

"Hello?" I ask a little apprehensively.

"Hello, Miss Everdeen. This is Miss Trinkett, Ava's teacher. I'm afraid there has been an incident at school. I think it's best if you come in," she says.

I sit up straighter and begin to put my seatbelt on.

"An incident. Is Ava okay?" I ask, panic rising inside of me.

"She's fine, Miss Everdeen. There was an altercation with another pupil and we've had to put Ava in time out. It would be great if you can come in to discuss it," she replies.

I nod my head even though I know she can't see me.

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as possible," I say.

Miss Trinkett thanks me and tells me she will see me soon. I throw down the phone once she has hung up and start the engine hurriedly.

An altercation? That doesn't sound good. And totally out of character for my daughter. I need to get to Ava fast.

* * *

I rush into the school building and the woman at the office takes me straight through to see Ava and her teacher. Miss Trinkett looks serious when I enter, although it is hard to take a woman with bright pink lipstick and bubble gum hair seriously. Ava sits opposite her teacher and hangs her head. She doesn't even look at me as I enter the room.

Miss Trinkett offers me a seat and I take the empty one next to Ava. I duck my head to try and see my daughter's expression but her hair hangs over her face and I don't know whether to be angry or concerned. I give up trying to analyse Ava's mood and turn to Miss Trinkett with a sigh.

"What exactly happened?" I ask.

Miss Trinkett folds her arms across the desk and flicks her eyes towards Ava.

"I have to say, Ava was cheeky all day. She kept answering back at me and made silly noises to distract everyone during story time. She didn't follow any of my instructions and would get up and wander off while I was speaking to her," she says.

I turn to give Ava a look. I've brought her up to respect adults and this is very unlike her. She at least looks a little ashamed and continues to pin her eyes to the table in front of her. I sigh before looking back at Miss Trinkett.

"Unfortunately, that is not the worst thing Ava got up to today. She snatched a toy out of another child's hand and when I took it off her to give it back to the child, she started screaming and scratching at the child, saying it was hers. She then started throwing other toys across the classroom until I got the principle in to take her away," Miss Trinkett says.

I turn back to look at Ava and she shrinks back from my stare.

"Ava! You know you can't scratch and throw things. That's how people get hurt!" I say.

Miss Trinkett tilts her head and gives Ava and I a sympathetic smile.

"I know you must be missing your daddy, Ava, but you can't hurt other children. Do you want to tell me what happened? That way I can help you," she says.

We both look at Ava but she only shakes her head and says nothing.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, Ava. If something upsets you, you can tell me instead of throwing things," I say.

Ava still doesn't speak and it hurts to see her like this. I just want my happy and energetic daughter back.

"Ava was put on timeout because of the incident and will be on another one tomorrow. She still needs to apologise to the child she scratched," Miss Trinkett says.

I nod my head in understanding.

"I'll see if I can get her to talk more at home. This is so out of character for her. There must be a reason behind it," I say.

"I'm sure there is. I understand that this a hard time for you both. But, Ava, I'm very disappointed in your behaviour today. I don't want to see it again," Miss Trinkett says sternly.

Ava nods her head and then we get up to leave. I wait by the classroom door while Ava apologises to the child she hurt and then I take her hand to take her home.

The car journey is silent as I try to figure out how to react with this. Part of me wants to let her off with it because I know she must be hurting but at the same time I can't condone her hurting someone else. That could be the start of a slippery slope.

The house is empty when we get back in and Ava trudges into the kitchen. She finally turns to look at me and she fiddles with the end of her braid.

"Am I in a lot of trouble?" she asks.

I let out a heavy sigh as I bend down to her eye level.

"Yes, Ava. You know you can't hurt people like that. I'm taking your bike away from you for a week and we're not going swimming this week either. That is your punishment," I reply.

Ava bows her head and nods it sadly. I reach out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you going to tell me why you did it? This isn't like you. You are normally the kindest girl in the classroom," I say.

Ava doesn't look at me straight away and chews on her bottom lip as she contemplates my question. Eventually she brings her eyes back up to answer me.

"I wanted to see Daddy," she says.

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

"How is throwing things going to get you to see him?" I ask.

"I thought if I got in trouble they would put me in jail too and then I could see him in there," she replies.

My heart breaks for her and I pull her in for a tight hug.

"Oh, Ava. It doesn't work like that. They don't put little girls in jail," I say.

Ava sniffs loudly as she squeezes me tight.

"I know that now, Mommy. I'm sorry. I won't do it again," she begins to cry.

I hug her even closer to me and don't let go.

* * *

I manage to distract Ava for a while with drawing. I tell her to draw how she is feeling about Daddy and the majority of pictures are sad and filled with blues and blacks. But it does seem to work. She is able to get out some of the things she struggles to articulate.

I become more frustrated with myself about not being able to convince Peeta to take the deal. It would make Ava so happy but as the hours tick by, I know his last chance to get out slips away.

However, as I tidy some of Ava's drawings, I find the picture she drew of the three of us in the kitchen. It still makes me smile to see how she has drawn me eating cake with crumbs smeared all over my face. She has drawn Peeta and her looking so happy as they bake.

The sad part is that this picture could be a reality if Peeta took the deal. I know we would probably have many days similar to the one Ava has drawn. But the longer I look at it, I realise I might have one last way to convince Peeta to take the deal. I tried telling him what he would be missing if he didn't take it, but this picture could show him it. Maybe it will make him realise just how much Ava needs him in her life.

As soon as Mom comes back in, I tell her I'm going to the police station and I swipe the picture and car keys off the counter. Mom looks confused but has no time to ask questions as I rush out the door.

I find Darius at the police station and ask to speak to Peeta one last time. He nods his head but comes back through later with an apologetic look on his face.

"He doesn't want to see you. I can't force him, Katniss," Darius says.

"Then you have to give this to him," I say, shoving Ava's picture in front of him.

Darius looks surprised at my gesture but his eyes widen in realisation when he recognises what it is.

"Give him the picture and tell him about why Ava got into trouble at school today. She's our last chance," I say.

Darius nods his head.

"It's worth a shot. I've got this," he says.

I smile at him gratefully and then let out a shaky breath as I watch him walk away.

I wait in the waiting room at the police station but I am very jittery. I try to read the out of date magazines but give up after realising I can't remember a single thing I've read. I watch the clock on the wall and hope that the length of time it's taking is a good thing.

After an hour Darius comes back in. I almost knock the chair over in my rush to stand up and get answers but Darius' face breaks into a big grin.

"It worked. I've just finished taking his statement about Rye," Darius says.

I let out a huge sigh of relief before I fling myself at Darius.

"Thank you," I exclaim.

Darius chuckles and gives me a little squeeze.

"No need. It was your idea that worked," he replies.

I smile at him gratefully as I pull back and then Darius turns to stop his deputy as he walks past.

"Cray, send a message out to pick up Rye Mellark. We've got him now," he says.

But Cray just shakes his head.

"No need, boss. Rye Mellark just handed himself in five minutes ago," he says.

Darius turn to look at each other in a stunned silence. I never thought Rye Mellark could surprise me.

* * *

 **A/N: I told you I would get Peeta out this mess! I know he was frustrating but he made the right decision in the end.**

 **Thanks to everyone that follows the story. We're nearly at the end now.**


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

It's a sunny day as I wait outside the police station. Spring flowers begin to pop up alongside the sidewalk and the birds chirp happily in the blossom heavy trees. I can't decide whether to stay in the car or not and must reach for the door handle half a dozen times before scolding myself for being stupid and jumping out the car. I try to lean casually against the car but the butterflies in my stomach stop me from feeling calm.

I stare at the entrance of the police station for a long time but it doesn't open an inch. I glance at my watch again to check I have the right time and then go back to staring at the entrance. Eventually the door pushes open and Darius holds it open as a blond figure walks through. My heart jumps in relief at seeing Peeta finally free of handcuffs.

It's taken five days but Peeta is finally being released today. In the end his statement against Rye wasn't needed. It seems that Rye really does love his brother and confessed to owning the gun and cocaine that was found on Peeta. The DA had no choice but to drop the charges against Peeta. Rye is waiting to be sentenced but he's going away for a long time. I won't have to worry about him for the foreseeable future.

Peeta stops to chat to Darius and they share a laugh before Peeta steps in to give him a hug. Darius waves as Peeta makes his way down the steps and towards me. I smile a little awkwardly as he approaches. We haven't spoken since my first failed attempt to convince him to take the DA's deal and I'm not sure what Peeta's feelings are. However, I relax when he smiles warmly at me.

I step in to embrace him and he buries his head in my shoulder. I don't know how long we stand, holding each other like that, but I feel the most content in a long time. I savour his musky scent and the strength of his grip. I know I won't be the first to let go.

Peeta eventually pulls back and lets out a relieved sigh. He tips his head back so that the sun bathes his face.

"I didn't think I would miss fresh air so much," he says. "I haven't left that building in a week."

"That should be good enough reason to never end up there again," I say with a raised eyebrow.

Peeta nods his head in agreement as he scans the area, soaking in every little bit of freedom. Eventually he pulls his eyes back to hold my stare in a firm grip.

"I'm done. No more stupid and illegal decisions," he says firmly.

"I believe you," I reply.

And I really mean it. The biggest threat to Peeta is now behind bars and I honestly believe that this whole experience has shaken him and will be enough motivation to stop any temptation in the future. Dad still doesn't fully trust him but I do and I'm ready to have a normal life.

Peeta gives me a relieved smile and squeezes my waist lightly. The look he gives me tells me that he feels the exact same way.

"How's Ava?" he asks.

I smile as we finally step away from each other and turn to get into the car.

"She's very excited to see you. She has a few surprises for you," I say with a grin.

Peeta flashes me a grin in return as he hops in the car.

"I've missed her so much. I can't wait to hear all her adventures since I've been away," he replies.

I nod my head. I told Ava that Peeta would be coming home a couple of days ago. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy and she has been bouncing off the walls ever since. The last three days she has woken up every morning asking if Daddy is home yet. She's even more excited about this than Christmas.

"I think she has killed a small tree with the amount of paper she's used for drawings for you," I reply.

"My refrigerator is running out of space," Peeta says with a grin.

I laugh. I ran out of space for Ava's drawings a long time ago. I have to slyly deposit some of the older ones in the trash to make space for the new ones. This normally works but only a couple of weeks ago she asked for an old picture of Buttercup that she drew. That ended up in the trash a long time ago and I had to make up a story about how I had taken it to the office at the diner. Thankfully she forgot about the picture before she went back to the diner.

Peeta asks me a few more questions about Ava and I am honest with him about how hard she found it the first few days he was behind bars. Peeta drops his head in shame and goes very quiet as I explain it all to him. I reach out to give his hand a squeeze.

"It was a sucky situation and I hated you for a while but you did the right thing in the end," I reassure.

Peeta nods.

"But it all could have been avoided if I had just listened to you in the first place," he admits.

I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Are you saying that I was right? You never admit that," I say with a grin.

This comment relaxes Peeta and he chuckles.

"Statistically it was bound to happen sometime," he replies. There is then a short pause. "I just can't believe Rye actually handed himself in."

I silently nod my head.

"Did you get to speak to him?" I ask.

Peeta nods and then doesn't speak for a long time.

"It was weird seeing him like that. I've looked up to him my whole life and it was strange seeing him so vulnerable," Peeta replies.

"He loves you. I think I finally realised that when I saw where you grew up," I say.

"He told me he saw you there. I don't know why he goes back. I want to distance myself as far away as possible from that place," he says.

I nod my head in agreement. Peeta sighs as he leans back into the car seat.

"He told me to be happy. That if he's going to be in jail then I better not waste my life," Peeta says.

"It sounds like good advice," I reply.

Peeta turns his head to smile at me.

"I don't plan on letting him down," he replies.

* * *

The rest of the car journey stays on lighter topics and we're both laughing when I pull up outside the bakery apartment.

"Remember to act surprised when we get in. Ava wanted this to be a surprise party," I say.

"Party? There's not going to be lots of people here, is there?" he asks.

"Just my mom, Dad and Ava. Dad has promised to be nice," I say.

Peeta laughs as he puts his key in the lock.

"I am a fantastic actor. Ava won't have a clue," he replies.

I grin back at him as we make our way up the stairs to the apartment. Peeta opens the door and an explosion of colourful streamers greets us as we enter.

"Surprise!" Ava and Mom exclaim.

The colourful streamers fall to the ground to reveal a big sign that says " _Welcome Home Daddy"_ and the whole room has been filled with orange balloons. Peeta does his best to look shocked and it doesn't take long for Ava to rush up to him.

"Wow! You did this all for me?" Peeta asks, as he gathers Ava in his arms.

Ava nods her head enthusiastically.

"Grandma helped me paint the banner and Grandpa blew up all the balloons. Are you surprised, Daddy?" she asks.

"Really surprised. You are all excellent secret keepers," he replies.

Ava beams at him and then throws her arms around his neck to hug him tight.

"I'm really happy you're home, Daddy," she says.

Peeta smiles as he holds her as close as possible.

"Me too, bug. I've missed you so much," he says.

I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face as I watch them. Any remaining doubts slip away and I know letting him back in is the right decision.

Ava eventually pulls back and tugs on Peeta's hand.

"You need to see the cake, Daddy. Mommy and I made it but it went a little wrong," she says.

Peeta raises an eyebrow at me as Ava yanks him towards the kitchen table and clambers on a chair to get a closer look of the cake.

"Are we sure this cake is edible?" he asks with a smile.

I scowl and cross my arms as I go over to join them.

"The cake is perfectly fine. I have learned some things watching you bake with Ava. It was the frosting that went wrong," I reply.

Peeta tries to hold back a laugh but when he sees the cake it's impossible to keep it in. He lets out a loud belly laugh.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know. I followed the instructions on the packet but it came out all lumpy," I reply.

The cake was going so well until the frosting when I had a little disaster. The white frosting became lumpy and gloopy and no matter what I did to fix it, it became worse. I ended up trying to trickle the frosting on the cake but it just kind of fell in lumps onto the cake. It doesn't look very attractive.

Peeta steps closer to whisper in my ear.

"It kind of looks like a man has come all over this cake," he whispers.

I elbow him in the ribs.

"You have a dirty mind, Peeta Mellark," I reply.

However, the longer I look at the cake, the more I agree with him. By the time Ava helps Peeta to cut it, I can't get the thought out of my head and can't find the courage to eat it. I try to quietly push the plate away and Peeta laughs when he sees the look of disgust on my face.

The rest of the afternoon is pleasant though. We all stuff ourselves with food and then Ava drags Peeta out so she can ride her bike. Her laughter is infectious and I don't think I stop smiling all afternoon.

Eventually Mom and Dad leave and we put on a movie to try and calm Ava down. She nestles herself between us and talks throughout the whole film but I can't think of anything else that I would rather be doing.

Once the film is finished I get up to help Peeta clean up. Ava doesn't want to let her dad out of sight so even she offers to help tidy and we give her a small dust pan and brush to sweep up the streamers. Peeta and I look fondly back at her before we move to the sink to wash up. We work side by side, Peeta washing and me drying, while Ava continues to sweep behind us. Neither of us say anything for a while, both of us content, but Peeta eventually turns to address me.

"Thank you. Thank you for believing in me and trusting me enough to be in Ava's life," he says.

I smile softly back at him.

"I think this would have happened anyway. We needed you to complete our family," I reply.

Peeta smiles back at me broadly and then goes back to washing the remainder of the dishes. Nothing else needs to be said right now.

* * *

We grow as a family over the next four months. Joel's son moves back to Seam to run the bakery but keeps Peeta on as the main baker. Peeta enjoys experimenting and the town flock to the bakery to try his latest creations. Ava loves going in after school to be what Peeta calls his official cake taster and nothing new gets sold at the counter without her approval.

When Peeta and I are not working we spend as much time as possible with Ava. We find long forgotten trails for Ava to ride her bike and snuggle under blankets watching movies when it rains. It's not always easy. The three of us are all very stubborn but there is always one thing that happens every day to make me smile.

As Ava's sixth birthday approaches, I think Peeta is more excited about it than Ava. This will be the first birthday he will be here for and he goes a bit over the top as a result. He and Ava spend a whole week making the paper mache piñata and we run out of space to hold all the baked treats he makes. Peeta rents a bubble machine and water slide, which I think are a big waste of money, but keeps Ava amused for hours. Red balloons are attached to every available surface and the _Frozen_ soundtrack plays on repeat in the background. I don't know if I should be impressed or annoyed at the extravagance.

"I'm surprised you didn't order a petting zoo," I say to Peeta.

He turns to me with a grin.

"I've got to have a few tricks up my sleeves for next year," he replies.

I shake my head but am distracted by Ava's shrieks of delight. Both Peeta and I turn to watch her jumping and twirling to pop the bubbles. I can't help but smile.

"Just look how happy she is," Peeta says.

"You don't need to buy her love. She loves you even without all this stuff," I say turning to him.

Peeta turns to face me with a smile.

"I know. But I'm always going to feel guilty for missing the first five years of her life," he says.

I nod my head in understanding and then Peeta chuckles as he reaches out to pick something out my hair.

"You managed to get some chips in your hair. I can't take you anywhere," he says with a grin.

I reach out to hurriedly comb out the chip crumbs but stop when I realise that Peeta's hand is resting at the base of my neck. My skin starts to tingle and I slowly look up at him. The laughter dies on his lips and instead he smiles at me sweetly. His thumb begins rubbing the back of my neck and we both instinctively step closer to each other. I keep hold of his stare but my eyes soon dart down to his lips. My tongue comes out to lick my bottom lip as my heart begins to pound in my chest. I let out a content sigh as I look back up at him and Peeta tips my head up closer to him. I hold my breath as I wait for him to close the remaining distance.

"Mommy! You need to come and pop the high bubbles!" Ava shouts, breaking the spell.

Peeta and I spring apart and I look over to Ava.

"Give me a second, bug," I call back.

I smooth down my hair and turn back to face Peeta. He gives me a soft smile and then watches me as I walk over to join our daughter.

I don't have time to analyse the almost kiss and how my body screamed with frustration when Ava interrupted us. We've spent a lot of time these last few months but it has always been platonic. I haven't been ready to have any other sort of relationship with him. But recently the thought of more has come across my mind more and more.

The guests start arriving soon after. It doesn't take long for the small yard to be filled with excited six year olds and it's a struggle to not trip over any of them.

Darius turns up with his new girlfriend, Lavinia, and Ava squeals when she unwraps the shiny red space hopper he gives her. Both he and Peeta help her balance on it and cheer her on as she hops in a very wiggly line. I watch Darius place a tender kiss to Lavinia's temple and am grateful there is no awkwardness between the four of us. Darius acted as a father figure for Ava when she needed one but he's stepped back without a fuss now Peeta is here.

A very heavily pregnant Madge appears with her four boys and Gale. Their sons all run off to create havoc as soon as they arrive. Madge groans as she lowers herself onto a chair in the shade and starts fanning herself.

"So the baby still hasn't arrived yet?" I say as I hand her a cool lemonade.

"No. It's seems this one takes after all the men in my life and is annoying me already," Madge grumbles.

I smile sympathetically at her as she wriggles on her seat, unsuccessfully trying to get comfortable.

"We've tried a lot of things the doctor suggested to induce labour but nothing has worked. This baby is obviously too snug," Gale says, reaching out to lovingly stroke the bump.

Madge grimaces at the touch and shifts away from his hand.

"I'm just so damn uncomfortable. I don't want anyone in a fifteen feet radius of me," she says.

Gale and I share a look.

"She'll be crying how much she loves you once the baby is born. Pregnancy hormones are a bitch," I say to him.

Gale nods his head but his attention is drawn away by one of his sons shouting.

"Ahh! I'm stuck! I don't want to come down!" Aiden wails.

Madge groans as she sees one of the twins stuck up a tree while his twin brother stands below telling him to stop being a wuss. Gale sighs as he gets up.

"I'll get him down," he says.

He bends down to kiss Madge on the cheek and then storms over to the twins. It takes a lot of coaxing but he finally gets Aiden out the tree. Aiden sniffles as he stands on solid ground again and Gale talks to him about not climbing things he can't get down from. Aiden nods his head, looking a little ashamed, and then wipes his nose with the back of his hand. But soon after another kid races up to him asking him to play and Aiden runs off completely forgetting his ordeal with the tree. The resilience of kids never ceases to amaze me.

Prim arrives with Jacob on her hip as he chews on the ear of some flannel toy. We give each other a one-armed hug and Prim's eyes widen when she sees the extravagance of the party.

"Peeta is really trying to prove something, isn't he?" she says.

"Don't even get me started," I reply.

Prim laughs but her eyes soon zoom in on the magnificent cake Peeta made. He's made a giant replica of the ice castle from _Frozen_ out of cake complete with glitter and mini Olaf. Ava squealed with delight when she saw it and has been boasting to all her friends about it. It looks so good that I almost don't want to eat it.

Prim wanders over to get a closer look at it and shakes her head in disbelief. She sighs as she shifts Jacob in her arms.

"It's unfair. Ava is always going to have the best cakes at her birthdays. Every other kid is going to be jealous," she says.

"I think it's the parents that are more jealous than anyone. Delly has already given me a jealous look when she saw the cake," I reply.

"Until Peeta arrived she was the best cake maker. It could be fun watching the two of them tussle over the star baker crown the next few years," Prim muses.

I laugh.

"As long as Peeta keeps making cakes for me to try, I'm okay with it," I reply.

Prim rolls her eyes but then catches sight of Peeta chasing some of the kids with super soakers. Ava screams and giggles as he spurts some water at her and then all the children decide to gang up on him and point their super soakers at him. Peeta plays it up for them, dramatically falling to the ground as they continue to pummel him with jets of water.

After watching them for a while, Prim turns back to me with a mischievous smile.

"Talking about Peeta, when is he going to give you something other than cake?" she says.

"I don't know what you mean, Prim," I say, feigning ignorance.

Prim smirks at me.

"I'll spell it out for you then. When is Peeta going to put his dick in your vagina?" she replies.

"You have a dirty mouth on you, Prim," I say.

Prim laughs.

"I'm just looking out for you. The last person you slept with was Darius and that was well over a year ago. Women have needs," she says.

"So I take it you and Rory are over your sexual problems then? He can finally touch you without you winching?" I say.

"This isn't about me," Prim replies. "This is about the fact that a man loves you and you love him back. You two finally have a chance of a normal relationship. Stop being a pussy and be proactive for a change!"

I open my mouth to make a protest but Prim sticks her finger up to stop me.

"No more excuses. If you haven't slept with him by the end of the weekend, I'm disowning you as a sister," she says.

I laugh.

"Okay. I promise to speak to him," I reply.

"Talking is only the start. Remember I want full frontal nudity," she says, raising one eyebrow.

I laugh and shake my head.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation at my daughter's sixth birthday party," I say.

Prim grins back at me and shrugs her shoulders innocently.

Thankfully I manage to avoid any further conversations like that at the party and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Ava. She doesn't stop smiling all day.

I had hoped that all the excitement of the day would tire her out but it takes two stories each from me and Peeta before she will settle for bed. We tuck her under the covers and I bend down to give her a goodnight kiss.

"I hope you had a good birthday," I whisper, stroking her hair back.

Ava beams up at me.

"It was the best birthday ever!" she exclaims. "The best bits were the bubble machine and Daddy being there!"

I give her a big smile and then turn back to Peeta. He looks genuinely touched by her words and as I step back, he bends down to kiss her goodnight.

"I love you," he says.

"I love you too, Daddy," she replies.

Peeta smiles as he places a kiss on her forehead. We both slowly creep out the room as we tell Ava to close her eyes. We pause at the door as we make sure she is settled.

"Your eyes are still open, Ava. You need to close them or I won't make any more cakes for you," Peeta says.

Ava snaps her eyes shut and Peeta and I grin as we gently close the door.

We're silent as we walk down the stairs but I turn to him once we've reached the bottom.

"Do you want a beer before you go back to your apartment?" I ask.

I don't want him to leave just yet and my conversation with Prim still rings in my head. Peeta and I have been heading in a certain direction and it's time to confront it. Mom and Dad have gone out for the evening so we have the house to ourselves. We haven't had a better opportunity.

Peeta smiles back at me and nods his head.

"Sure. That would be nice," he replies.

I smile back before heading into the kitchen to grab two beers. When I come back through we settle on the couch in the living room. We both take long sips before we say anything.

"You did a good job with the party. It's all anyone is going to talk about next week," I say.

"Thanks. I'm just glad Ava was so happy. That's all I want for her," he replies.

I nod my head in agreement.

"Do you remember when she was born? How scared we were that we were going to screw her up?" I ask.

"I did a good job trying to fuck things up for her. You have to take most of the credit for the amazing little person she is today," Peeta replies.

I nod my head and take another sip of my beer. Peeta smiles at me.

"The day she was born was the happiest day of my life. I didn't realise I could love two people so much," he adds.

I gulp down my beer and stare at him carefully. This is my opening to discuss what Prim and I talked about earlier so I choose my next words carefully.

"And do you still feel that way about us now?" I ask.

"Do you really have to ask?" Peeta says with a smile.

I smile too as I shrug a shoulder.

"You haven't said anything in a while. I didn't want to assume," I reply.

Peeta's smile gets wider.

"Of course I love you. I always have. From the moment I met you, everything has always come back to you," he says.

"Then kiss me," I say, putting down my beer.

Peeta smiles again as he puts down his beer and leans in closer to me.

"You're bossy, you know?" he says.

"You'll get a kiss out of it, so don't complain," I reply.

Peeta shakes his head as he slides a hand up my neck.

"Not until you tell me how you feel," he says.

I tip my head closer and move my body nearer to his. I look him deep in the eyes as I say my next words.

"I love you, Peeta Mellark," I say.

Peeta grins at me before pulling me up to kiss him. My arms immediately wrap around his back and he tugs me so that I sit in his lap. My hands trace the outline of his spine as he locks my head firmly in place. He opens his mouth to let me in and I greedily lap him up. Our tongues tangle together as I push my breasts against his firm chest. We both groan as we begin to push and pull against each other.

I drag my lips away from his, and Peeta begins planting hot kisses against my neck and collarbone. I'm breathless and hold his head in my hands as we begin to rock against each other but I don't want this to happen here. Not on the couch that my daughter watches _Frozen_ on.

"Upstairs. Now," I pant as Peeta begins to suckle on my ear lobe.

He nods and releases my ear with a pop and then stands to offer me his hand. I smile as I slip my hand in his and he pulls me towards him to give me a soft kiss. The kiss changes the pace and we walk slowly up to my bedroom. Hands trail up and down the other's arm, and skim across our backs, but we don't kiss each other. Instead gentle caresses slowly stoke the flame.

I quietly close the door of my bedroom and turn to find Peeta giving me a look so tender and sweet that it takes my breath away. He reaches out and gently tugs me to him. His hands tangle in my hair and he places a soft kiss on my nose.

"I'm going to take my time with you tonight," he whispers.

I can only nod before he leans down to give me a lingering kiss. The kisses continue to be slow as we slowly remove garments of clothing off each other. Peeta's shirt. My dress. His jeans. My panties. Each item is removed and deposited in a pile on the floor. We smile softly at each other once we are both completely bare and Peeta skims his hands across my shoulders, over my chest and then down to my breasts. His touch is almost too soft at first but then he runs a thumb around my nipple a couple of times before pinching it hard. I gasp and my nipples instantly become rock solid. I step into him and pull him down for a deeper kiss.

Peeta grabs hold of my waist and spins us around so he can walk us towards my bed. He slowly lowers me on to the mattress, our bodies never breaking apart. Once lying on the bed, I open my legs for him and he nestles between them. I feel his dick hard against my thigh and trail my hands down to his ass to squeeze it and push him closer to me.

Peeta groans as he pushes his body in closer to mine and drops his mouth from my lips. He rests his forehead against my shoulder as I roll my hips into him a couple of times and he lets out a few curse words.

"Shit, Katniss. You've always known just how to play me," he says.

I grin in satisfaction and buck my hips up into him one more time for good measure. He swears again as he must feel the wetness between my thighs and then descends his mouth down to torture my breasts. He starts by placing soft kisses on my breast, each getting a little firmer as he closes in on my nipple. He then uses the flat of his tongue to slowly lick around my areola. I writhe and whine for more but he spends his time reacquainting himself with my breast. I become hot, sweaty and desperate. Finally, he takes the whole nipple in his mouth and sucks hard. I let out an embarrassingly loud moan, and then clamp down on my fist to make sure I don't wake Ava. Peeta smirks against my breast as he fingers move down to my dripping centre and pushes my folds apart.

I'm becoming delirious on the pleasure he is giving me as he strokes my walls and continues to suckle on my breast. He eventually moves to give the same treatment to my other tit but at the same time reaches to push down on my clit. My nails dig into his back as he pleasures me at two points. I almost completely lose it when he sticks two thick fingers inside of me and I can only rock against him as the coil in my belly goes tighter. It all becomes too much too quickly and I come hard around his fingers.

His lips and fingers continue to move against me as I ride out my orgasm and I push my head back against the pillow to try and regain my breath. Peeta slowly kisses his way up my chest and towards my mouth but my lips can barely function as he places a kiss on them.

"Don't tell me you are tired out already?" Peeta says with a grin.

"We're not twenty-one anyone," I pant.

Peeta grins at me as he strokes the side of my face and places a kiss on my forehead. It takes me a moment for me to come down from my high but it doesn't take me long to realise that Peeta is still hard and ready against my thigh. I shift underneath him before wrapping my legs around his waist and pushing his dick into my soaking folds. I reach up to give him a lingering kiss.

"Ava could wake up at any moment. You better take advantage of me," I say with a wicked grin.

Peeta grins back at me before bending down to give me a bruising kiss. We kiss like this for a few moments as I let my hands trail over his body before I tell him there are condoms in the drawer.

He gets off me briefly to retrieve them and I insist on rolling the latex down his length. Peeta watches me with a look of complete love and I soon pull him back on top of me. I reach down and position him at my entrance. We pause just as his tip dips into my entrance and I look deep into his eyes.

"I think I was always meant to love you," I say softly.

Peeta smiles at me softly and gives me a tender kiss as he slowly slides into me. Once he's buried to the hilt we pause again as we savour the moment. We share one more sweet kiss before I wrap my legs around his waist and encourage Peeta to move. He moves slowly at first with long and steady thrusts but these become more erratic the closer we both get to the edge.

My hands can't get enough of him and my lips kiss every available inch of skin to me. When Peeta dips his hands down to stimulate my clit it doesn't take much longer for me to come the second time. Peeta thrusts a few more times before he too joins me in coital bliss. He stays inside me a moment longer before kissing my forehead and rolling off me. I instinctively roll onto my side and place my head on his chest, my hand above his heart, just like I used to do so many years ago. Peeta's hand tangles in my hair as he gently massages my scalp.

"I'm glad some things don't change," he says.

I laugh lightly as I throw my leg over his hip. This all feels so familiar but I know we are in a much better place this time. We'll be stronger now as a family after everything that happened.

"You're right about that. Once again you will have to face my disgruntled Dad tomorrow as you try to explain why you slept over last night," I say with a grin.

Peeta laughs and then pulls me up so I'm straddling his lap. His hands reach up to tweak a nipple.

"If I'm already in trouble I might as well carrying on doing the thing that got me into trouble in the first place," he replies.

I laugh before Peeta sits up to kiss me fiercely.

* * *

 **A/N: So we've come to end! Only a short epilogue will be posted next week. Thank you to everyone that stuck with Everlark on this ride. It hasn't been easy by a long shot but I hope you are happy with how it ended.**


	15. Chapter 15

_Epilogue_

 _5 Months later_

I'm extremely warm and snug in bed. I cling to the sheets around me as I try to hold on to the last remainders of sleep before I have to get up and occupy an energetic six-year-old. However, the warm body beside me has different ideas. A hand slides down my side, skims over my hip bone and then around to dip inside my panties. I hum as his fingers find my clit and his nose starts nuzzling my neck.

"I was having a lovely dream before you woke me," I say as I press my ass into his groin.

Peeta's already half hard and I feel his erection grow as I push back into him.

"Me too," he hums as he starts placing kisses on my neck. "You were completely naked and absolutely dripping for me. You came twice as I ate you out."

I moan louder as his ministrations become fiercer on my clit. I slide my hand underneath the over-sized shirt I'm borrowing from Peeta and reach up to pinch and tweak my breast. I lean my head back against his shoulder and he smirks when he sees what I'm doing.

"Are you touching yourself, Miss Everdeen?" he asks as he nips at my ear.

"Well your hands seem to be a bit preoccupied," I breathe.

Peeta smirks against my skin as my juices drip down his hand. He then removes his hand from my clit and I whimper at the loss of contact but he only removes them to slide my panties off my ass and down my legs. Once he's discarded them he hikes my leg over his hip and nestles his erection between my slick folds. We both groan at the contact before he sinks into me.

We begin to rock together as Peeta's hand comes up to join the hand I have massaging my breast. We tug and knead it together and I relish his rough fingertips sweeping over my body. The heat between us grows as he hits the sweet spot inside of me and I reach back to fondle with his balls. Peeta curses quietly and then picks up the speed but I'm not reaching my orgasm fast enough. I retch his hands away from me and then swing around to pin him on his back. I plunge back onto his cock and start grinding my clit into him in the way I know is quickest to get myself off.

Peeta is a little surprised by my sudden change in position but soon gives me his lazy, sexy smile. His hands slide up my waist and rest just below my breasts as he watches me ride him with pleasure.

"Someone is impatient this morning," he grins.

"You have to be when you have a six-year-old that can interrupt you at any moment," I pant.

Peeta chuckles lightly as his thumbs skim the underside of my breasts.

"My clothes definitely look better on you than me," he states.

I smirk as I continue to pound on his cock. I borrowed this t-shirt from him the first night I spent with him at the bakery apartment but I still haven't given it back four and a half months later.

"I don't know. This shirt is pretty tight fitting on you. Sometimes I get wet just looking at your muscles moving underneath it," I reply.

"I knew you checked me out while I worked the bakery ovens," Peeta says.

I give him a coy smile and press harder down on his pelvis. Peeta then begins pushing up into me and my orgasm comes racing towards me. With a couple more thrusts my walls explode around him and Peeta continues to pound into me until he spurts inside of me. Once I've regained my breath I bend down to place a kiss on his lips. Peeta crinkles his nose and then smiles at me.

"Eww. You have bad morning breath," he jokes.

I gently thump him on the arm before settling myself in the familiar position on his chest. He chuckles as he places a kiss on my forehead and we enjoy a few moments of peace on this Sunday morning.

It doesn't last long though as we hear Ava's feet scampering outside the door. I can tell she is trying to be quiet but fails miserably as she thumps outside. I let out a heavy sigh as I roll away from Peeta.

"She definitely gets that noisiness from you. Dad refused to take you hunting again after you scared off all the game that first time," I say.

Peeta turns to me with a grin.

"And she definitely gets her scowl from you," he replies.

I thump him again and he chuckles as he rolls off the bed.

"You take the shower first. I'll start breakfast," he says.

I nod my head in agreement and enjoy the view of his naked behind before he pulls on a pair of slouchy pants and worn t-shirt. I hear him greet Ava enthusiastically outside before I force myself out of bed for a shower.

They are both enjoying eggs when I appear from the shower. I bend down to give Ava a kiss before I take a seat and braid my wet hair.

"We made you an egg too, Mommy. Daddy let me cut up the toast," Ava says proudly.

I smile at her as Peeta pushes the egg towards me and try not to laugh at the wonky strips of bread.

We eat in comfortable silent for a moment before Ava turns to Peeta.

"Have you got the paint for my new room yet?" she asks.

Peeta smiles and shakes his head at her. Ava and I moved in with him at the bakery apartment a month ago and we promised Ava she could decorate her new room. Unfortunately, she wants to paint her room red, her favourite colour, and we've spent a long time trying to subtly dissuade her. Peeta's tried to make a compromise by suggesting he paints a mural on one of the walls filled with all things red but she's still not entirely convinced.

"You've still not told me if you like my mural design," Peeta gently points out.

Ava huffs as she sits back in her chair.

"It's good, Daddy, but I want to add some things to it," she says.

Peeta turns to catch my eye and I shrug my shoulder. He turns back to Ava.

"You can try to add some things in today if you want," he says.

Ava smiles and nods her head eagerly.

"Thank you! Toby didn't believe I was getting to paint my own room," she says.

Peeta and I both smile and I turn to look at her.

"What else do you want to do today, bug?" I ask.

Ava's grin grows wider and she sits up straighter in her seat.

"I want to go and see Santa! I know what I want for Christmas now!" she exclaims excitedly.

Peeta and I eye each other nervously. After Joel's death, Haymitch has been forced into the Santa role this year and the grumpy bastard has been complaining to us how all the kids only want hover boards and ipads now. These are things we can't afford.

"That's great. What are you going to ask for?" I ask.

"A baby brother!" Ava announces.

I'm sure the look of horror on both mine and Peeta's face is quite comical.

"That's a pretty big gift, bug. Babies take a long time to make," Peeta says carefully.

Ava frowns.

"But you said that if I'm good Santa will get me whatever I want. Have I not been good?" she asks.

"Of course you've been good. But Santa's elves can only make toys in their workshop. Not babies," I reassure her.

Ava huffs again and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I suppose I can ask for more painting stuff," she mumbles.

Peeta and I let out a sigh of relief.

"That sounds like a good idea. I can help you write the letter for Santa," Peeta says.

Ava nods her head and finishes her egg. She then slides off the chair and goes off to play with some of her toys in her room. I shake my head in disbelief at Peeta and he chuckles.

"I can't believe she asked for that. I blame the Hawthornes and their latest baby boy," I say.

"I know," Peeta replies. "We should at least be married before we go down that road again," Peeta replies.

I raise my eyebrow at him. I suppose marriage is the next step for us but it's not been brought up until now.

"You better not get me an engagement ring for Christmas. That's so corny," I reply.

Peeta chuckles as he gets off his chair and comes around to me.

"No. I'm saving that for Valentine's Day," he says.

I elbow him in the ribs and he chuckles before placing a kiss on my temple.

"I am going to get you a ring. It won't be on a corny holiday but you better be prepared for one in the next year," he says.

I twist round and smile softly at him. He then ducks his head to rest against mine.

"And then we can think about giving Ava the baby brother she wants. And until then, I guess we just have to keep practising," he says with a smile.

I shake my head at him but reach to cup his cheek and give him a kiss filled with promises for our future ahead.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the end! Thank you to everyone who followed/favourited/reviewed this story. Your support has been great!**


End file.
